Restitution: Amsterdam’s Example

The gesture is an example worth noting. In 2018, Amsterdam refused to return a Kandinsky painting to the heirs of collector Emanuel Lewenstein. The National Restitution Commission opposed returning the work because Lewenstein’s family had sold it in 1940 after he had fled the country. A court upheld the refusal. Now, Amsterdam mayor Femke wants to be part of a "new policy clearly in favor of restitution." The 2018 denial sparked an outcry, leading the Dutch Ministry of Culture to ask a committee led by lawyer…