Dutch Museum Returns Kandinsky Painting To Jewish Heirs, Art Initially Sold To Escape Nazis

The painting “Bild mit Hausern” (Painting with Houses) by Wassily Kandinsky was handed over to the heirs of the original Jewish owners in the Netherlands. (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam/Zenger)

A museum in Amsterdam has returned a painting worth millions to the descendants of its Jewish owners, who had to sell it under duress to escape the Nazis during World War II.

The handover of the “Bild mit Häusern” (“Picture with Houses,” 1909) by the famous Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, a pioneer of abstract art, took place Feb. 28. The painting now has an estimated value of more than $20 million, according to NPR.