Christie’s Paris to sell a Painting saved with the help of The Monuments Men

During the German occupation of Paris (1940-44) the Jeu de Paume served as warehouse for the many works of art looted by the Germans. In 1961 Rose Valland published Le Front de l’Art, a book based on her secretly taken notes. Today, Rose Valland is recognised for her role in the protection of France’s cultural heritage and her records are still highly valuable for provenance research and restitution efforts today.

Rose Valland was awarded multiple honors, inluding the médaille de la Résistance française (1946). She was named Officer of the Légion d’honneur, and Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Abroad, she was awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom (1948) and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1972), becoming one of the most decorated French women ever.

On 21 November Portrait de femme à mi-corps by Nicolas de Largillierre painted around the turn of the 18^th Century will be part of the Old Master Painting auction in Paris. The painting’s history is closely linked to that of the Allied Monuments, Fine Arts and Archive’s Section (also known as the Monuments Men). Looted from the bank vault of Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) in Arcachon in late 1940 and transferred to the Jeu de Paume in Paris in February 1941, the portrait was recovered by the Monuments Men in May 1945, days before the end of World War II, at Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria, thanks to the notes Rose Valland had taken and shared in secret.

Portrait de femme à mi-corps is not only a wonderful painting, it is also part of an iconic photograph (see top of press release) taken in May 1945 on the steps of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, showing James J. Rorimer of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archive Section together with three soldiers of the 7^th US Army, holding three of the many works of art looted by the Germans. Portrait de femme à mi-corps can be seen on the right-hand side of this iconic photograph, which is the visual element retracing the important work and history of the Monuments Men during and after World War II.

Thanks to Rose Valland’s farsightedness in taking secret notes, the painting was located at the beginning of May 1945 in Bavaria alongside thousands of other looted works of art, and was returned to Paris in November 1945, underlining the pragmatic attitude of the allied authorities, who favored a rapid first wave of restitutions. The work was then officially restituted to the Rothschild family on 3 May 1946 and remained in their collection until 1978 when it was bought at auction by today’s owner The portrait will be offered on 21 November in Paris with an estimate of €50,000-80,000.

Portrait de femme à mi-corps exemplifies the style of Nicolas de Largillierre, one of the prominent painters in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency. His highly acclaimed portraits, in the style of Rubens and van Dyck, are part of the permanent collections of the Louvre, the Château de Versailles and the Uffizi Galleries amongst others. Works by Nicolas de Largillierre are receiving renewed recognition from collectors around the world, underlined by the new auction record for the artist established at Christie’s in 2020 for La Belle Strasbourgeoise selling for €1.6 million.