Long-lost painting looted by Nazis recovered in Argentina after 80 years

Argentine authorities have recovered an 18th-century portrait looted by the Nazis that had been missing for roughly 80 years, officials said, and charged the daughter of a former Nazi official with concealing the work.

The oil painting, identified as "Portrait of a Lady" by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi and believed to depict Countess Colleoni, was located after a colour photograph of it appeared last month in an online real-estate listing. The house in the photograph had belonged to Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a fugitive Nazi officer who served as an adviser to Hermann Göring, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors in Mar del Plata presented the work at a public briefing, saying it had not been seen publicly in eight decades. Daniel Adler, a federal prosecutor, said the display was intended in part to acknowledge the community role that helped prompt the investigation, naming journalists who discovered the image online and alerted investigators.

Authorities said the painting was returned to the state by the lawyer of Ms. Kadgien after it was traced to her late father's former home. Ms. Kadgien and her husband had been placed under house arrest earlier in the week while investigators searched the property; prosecutors said an initial search had failed to locate the painting. The lawyer later handed the work over to investigators, prosecutors said.

Ariel Bassano, an art expert who worked on the case, told reporters the portrait dated from about 1710 and was "in good condition for its age," estimating its value at roughly $50,000 according to local reports.

Prosecutors in Argentina have charged Patricia Kadgien and her husband with aggravated concealment of property and with "theft in the context of genocide," alleging the concealment was linked to the systematic appropriation of art and valuables carried out by the Nazi regime during World War II. Local prosecutor Carlos Martinez said the crimes under investigation were "serious, linked to crimes of genocide," and related to a broader pattern of looting.

Friedrich Kadgien, now deceased, has been described in court records and press accounts as a key aide to Göring, who oversaw large-scale seizures of art across occupied Europe. Prosecutors said the painting had been taken from the home of a prominent prewar European art dealer and collector; specifics about the original owner and the date of the seizure were not disclosed by Argentine authorities during the presentation.

Dutch journalists were credited with making the first modern-day identification of the portrait while researching Kadgien's wartime activities, prompting Argentine investigators to open inquiries and trace the image to the real-estate posting. The discovery illustrates how online postings and community reporting can assist provenance research and restitution efforts.

Argentine officials said the case remains under investigation and that further legal action may follow as authorities continue to determine the full provenance of the painting and whether additional works or assets connected to Nazi-era thefts remain in private hands in the country. The local presentation of the portrait was described by prosecutors as part of efforts to make the recovery transparent to the community and to international partners tracking Nazi-looted cultural property.

The recovery adds to a series of recent cases in which works believed to have been taken during World War II have resurfaced decades later, prompting renewed scrutiny of private collections and sales records as scholars, journalists and legal authorities press for restitution to families and institutions from which items were stolen.