A painting that was stolen by Nazi forces and previously hung in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art has been transferred to a museum in France and will be displayed there for the next five years.
The painting, "La Bergere rentrant des moutons," or "Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep," will return to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art after its five-year stint at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, and then it will rotate between the two locations every three years.
The painting was originally owned by a Jewish family before Nazi forces seized it from the family's bank safe in 1941.
The painting ended up at an art gallery in New York in 1956, where Clara and Aaron Weitzenhoffer, the parents of former OU Regent Max Weitzenhoffer, purchased the painting. Clara Weitzenhoffer's estate later bequeathed the painting to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, where it had been displayed since.
Leone Meyer, the adopted daughter of Raoul Meyer, who originally owned the painting, filed a complaint against OU in May 2013. The two parties eventually settled in November 2015 without exchanging any money, and OU fully transferred the rights of the painting to the Meyer family in February 2016.
OU president David Boren said in a statement that he believes the resolution was fair and just.
"We are particularly glad that both fine families involved in the case are being appropriately recognized, the Meyers who tragically lost the painting to Nazi theft and the Weitzenhoffer family who bought the painting in good faith and generously sought to share it with the people of Oklahoma. It is by mutual agreement that the artwork will remain on display in Paris for the next five years before returning to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art to begin its ongoing three-year rotation between the University of Oklahoma and France. The history of the Pissarro painting and the families involved will continue to be honored, and the painting will remain accessible for the benefit of the public. This resolution of a difficult issue should be the cause of positive comment from all of those involved. The university has done its best to meet its obligations as a steward of the artwork and the gift,” Boren said.
Scroll through the timeline below to see the history of the painting from 1886 to 2015:
