Painting looted by Nazis during WWII found 80 years later —after being spotted in real estate listing

Nazi-Looted Painting Discovered 80 Years Later in Argentine Real Estate Listing

A painting looted by the Nazis during World War II has resurfaced nearly 80 years later—unexpectedly spotted in a real estate listing for a home in Argentina once owned by the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi official.

The artwork, Portrait of a Lady by 18th-century Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi, was identified hanging above a couch in a property listing. The house belonged to the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a top aide to Nazi leader Hermann Goering, who fled to Argentina after the war, according to The Telegraph.

The painting is listed on the Dutch government’s official registry of Nazi-stolen artworks, and experts from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) believe the image in the listing is authentic. “There is no reason to think this could be a copy,” said RCE experts Annelies Kool and Perry Schrier, who also claim to have discovered another stolen painting on a relative’s social media page.

Portrait of a Lady is among hundreds of works looted from prominent Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who helped other Jews escape Nazi-occupied Europe. His vast collection was seized by Hermann Goering, who stole at least 800 works during the war.

The trail of the painting eventually led to Kadgien, one of Goering’s financial advisors, who was instrumental in funding Nazi operations by looting valuables from Jewish families. Kadgien managed to avoid prosecution by convincing Allied authorities he was not affiliated with the Nazi party, despite CIA reports later describing him as “a snake of the lowest kind.” He died in Argentina in 1979.

When contacted by Dutch newspaper AD, Kadgien’s daughter claimed she had no knowledge of the artwork. “I don’t know what painting you’re talking about,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Goudstikker family is working with an American attorney to reclaim the artwork. Marei von Saher, the 81-year-old daughter-in-law of Jacques Goudstikker, has been leading efforts to recover the stolen collection since the 1990s.

“My family aims to bring back every single artwork robbed from Jacques’ collection and restore his legacy,” she told AD. Goudstikker died in 1940 while fleeing the Nazis, but left behind a black book meticulously documenting his collection.

More than 200 pieces from his collection were returned in the early 2000s through efforts led by the Dutch government—but hundreds remain missing.

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