Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of the painting 'Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy' by Henry Gibbs
This report deals with a claim brought to the Spoliation Advisory Panel on behalf of the heirs of Samuel Hartveld (the Heirs) for restitution of the painting Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy by Henry Gibbs currently located in the collection of the Tate Gallery, London.
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The Spoliation Advisory Panel considered a restitution claim on behalf of heirs of the late Samuel Hartveld for an oil painting, Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy, by Henry Gibbs now in possession of the Tate Gallery, London. The claimants submitted that the painting was one of 66 works seized from a gallery owned by Samuel Hartveld in Antwerp by the Nazis on 26 March 1942.
The Panel concluded that the evidence provided supported the legal and moral claims to restitution on the grounds that Samuel Hartveld was forced to flee his homeland, leaving behind his property, books and art collection which were subsequently looted as an act of racial persecution by the Nazis. The Panel recommended the painting be restituted to the heirs of Samuel Hartveld. The Panel was keen to express its gratitude to the Tate for its open and honourable reaction to this claim in not contesting it, and noted its helpful offer to assist in what it describes as a “meaningful and appropriate recognition” of the painting’s history.
The Spoliation Advisory Panel was designated by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to consider the claim. The Panel was established in 2000 by government to consider claims for the return of cultural objects lost during the Nazi-era (1933 to 1945).