Tate Britain Returns Nazi-Looted Painting to Heirs

The Tate Britain gallery is set to return a 17th-century painting, 'Aeneas and His Family Fleeing Burning Troy' by Henry Gibbs, to the heirs of Samuel Hartveld, a Jewish Belgian art collector whose collection was looted by Nazis during World War II. The painting, depicting a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, was stolen from Hartveld's collection in 1940 when he fled Antwerp with his wife to escape Nazi persecution. Acquired by the Tate in 1994, the painting's restitution is part of ongoing efforts by the UK Spoliation Advisory Panel to return Nazi-looted artworks to rightful owners. The panel determined the painting was taken as an act of racial persecution, and its return marks a significant victory for Hartveld's descendants, who initiated their claim in 2024. The decision reflects broader efforts to address historical injustices related to stolen cultural property. Hartveld's family expressed deep gratitude for the acknowledgment of the Nazi persecution and the return of the painting.