"Lady with a Fan" Returns to Poland After Nearly Eight Decades
A 19th-century oleograph looted from Poland’s historic Wilanów Palace in Warsaw during World War II is back in the palace museum’s collection, nearly 80 years after it disappeared.
The work, titled Lady with a Fan, is an oleograph with hand-painted details, printed on paper and mounted on canvas, according to Masovian heritage conservator Marcin Dawidowicz.
The print first appeared in Wilanów’s historical records in the 1877 "Inventory of Paintings" and was later documented in the 1895 "Catalog of Paintings and Furniture Located in the Palace at Wilanów" by Georges Duchesne. Across all historical sources, it bears the inventory number 775. Like much of the Wilanów residence’s collection, it was looted and evacuated in the autumn of 1944 during the systematic confiscations overseen by German commissioner Alfred Schellenberg.
The trail re-emerged in May 2023 when a German couple contacted authorities expressing their desire to return the artwork. The back of the piece still retains crucial historical markings verifying its origin: an original label featuring the former Wilanów inventory number and a stenciled stamp reading "GALERYA OBRAZÓW W WILLANOWIE". Upon confirming its history, the previous possessors decided to unconditionally return the graphic work to the museum.
Main Image: Courtesy Masovian Conservator of Monuments on Facebook