The Lost Art Collection of Gaston Lévy (1893-1977)

Abstract

The art collection of Gaston Lévy (1893-1977) was of international significance and contained many works by renowned artists, with a focus on Paul Signac. Although works were sold or transferred throughout the 1930s, Lévy deposited a sizeable collection in 1940 at his Château des Bouffards in Sologne. This was an unsuccessful attempt to protect his collection from looting by the German occupiers. Lévy returned after the war to find his cultural goods had been taken. Yet, it was not until 1962 that Lévy initiated a compensation claim, and then only through the German system rather than the French process. This study explores the lost art collection of Lévy and traces works listed on his inventory of looted goods to modern collections, taking note of the recent restitutions to Lévy’s heirs. However, it also establishes that the list of works Lévy claimed to have been looted in June 1940 contains paintings which he did not own at that time or which did not exist. For this reason, it is contended here that the inventory must be treated with caution. Throughout, Lévy’s varied career, his business practices, and involvement in a series of criminal enterprises are used to contextualize the inadequacies and falsities of the sworn inventory that Lévy submitted to the West German authorities in 1962. For the first time, an exploration of Lévy’s life and compensation claim are carried out in tandem and the romantic narratives of Lévy’s life, woven by auction houses in recent years, are subjected to proper investigation.