Hearst to return art sold by Nazis

Hearst Castle will return 2 Renaissance paintings auctioned by Nazis.

Los Angeles, April 10: California`s Hearst Castle will return two Italian Renaissance paintings auctioned by German Nazis that made their way into the collection of US newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, officials said on Thursday.

The paintings originally belonged to Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer, Jewish owners of a Berlin art gallery who in 1935 were forced by the Nazis to sell their holdings and later died during the Holocaust. The Oppenheimers` descendants in 2007 claimed the Renaissance-era paintings -- "Portrait of Alvise Vendramin" by a student of the Venetian artist Jacopo Tintoretto and a portrait by an anonymous Venetian artist. "They`ve been with the museum for about 74 years, hanging in plain sight," said Roy Stearns, a spokesman for California State Parks, which runs Hearst Castle. Officials say the paintings were likely bought for the Hearst Castle from another gallery, which had acquired them in the forced sale of the Oppenheimers` holdings. "We don`t even know if William Randolph Hearst said `OK,` because a lot of stuff ... was purchased by his agents," Stearns said. California State Parks will return the two paintings to descendants of the Oppenheimers in a ceremony on Friday. A third painting by a student of the 16th century Venetian artist Paris Bordon also belonged to the Oppenheimers, but their descendants and California State Parks agreed to let it remain at the Hearst Castle. Guides at the Castle, Hearst`s central California mansion that was a playground for the rich and famous in his heyday, will tell visitors the history of the painting and how it was seized by the Nazis, officials said. In 1935, the Nazis often forced Jews to sell their holdings at bargain prices and use the proceeds to pay "flight taxes" to leave Germany. The Oppenheimers fled to France, where Jakob Oppenheimer died during World War II. His wife perished at Auschwitz. Hearst, who died in 1951, owned more than two dozen U.S. newspapers at the peak of his publishing empire. His Castle is a major tourist draw with 22,500 pieces of art. Bureau Report