Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel on the ‘La Ronde Enfantine’ Painting by Gustave Courbet in the Possession of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

The Spoliation Advisory Panel considered a restitution claim on behalf of heirs of the late Robert Bing for an oil painting, La Ronde Enfantine, by Gustave Courbet now in possession of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The claimants submitted that the painting was seized from the flat of Robert Léo Michel Lévy Bing in Paris on 5 May 1941 by the Nazis.

The Panel concluded that the evidence provided supported the claimants version of events and that the painting was seized by the Nazi occupying forces on account of Robert Bing being Jewish. The Panel recommended that the Painting be restituted to Mondex Corporation representing and on behalf of the heirs of Robert Bing. The Panel was keen to stress that their recommendation implied no criticism of the Museum or the original donor to the Museum, The Very Reverend Eric Milner-White, who had acted honourably and in accordance with the standards prevailing at the time of acquisition and since.

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 (1933-1945).