The Kunsthaus Zürich, one of the biggest art museums in Switzerland, is selling a painting by Claude Monet that its Jewish owner was forced to part with as a result of Nazi persecution in World War II.
The proceeds are to be divided between the museum and the heirs of the former owner, the Kunsthaus announced on Wednesday.
It has been agreed that details of the division of the proceeds will not be disclosed.
The painting "L'Homme à l'ombrelle" from 1865/1867 belonged to the entrepreneur and art collector Carl Sachs. He fled to Switzerland with his wife in 1939 and was forced to sell the painting in order to make a living. Sachs died in 1943. The gallery said that "a fair and equitable solution" has now been found with his heirs.
The pressure on the Kunsthaus to scrutinize the provenance of all artworks and the circumstances of purchases has grown in recent years.
The starting point was the controversial collection of the former Swiss arms manufacturer Emil Bührle, which has been on display at the Kunsthaus since 2021.
Bührle (1890-1956) had collaborated with the Nazis, and the Kunsthaus decided to develop long-term provenance procedures to deal with historic ownership issues.
The museum says the handling of the Monet shows that the strategy is being implemented seriously.