Restituted Painting, Once Looted by Nazis, to Be Sold at Auction

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, September 2, 2026

A Wassily Kandinsky painting titled “The Colorful Life,” looted from the Dutch Jewish Lewenstein family during the Nazi era and recently restituted by a German bank, will be auctioned at Christie’s in London with an estimated value of at least $30 million. This sale highlights ongoing efforts to return stolen art to rightful heirs and raises awareness of the many still-missing works displaced by Nazi persecution.

A significant painting by Wassily Kandinsky, long held by the Lenbachhaus museum in Munich, is set to be sold at auction following its restitution to the descendants of a Dutch Jewish family from whom it was looted during the Nazi era. The tempera and gouache work, titled “The Colorful Life,” is expected to fetch at least $30 million when it goes on sale at Christie’s in London on October 14.

The painting originally belonged to Emanuel Albert Lewenstein, a Dutch Jewish industrialist and director of a sewing machine factory, and his wife Hedwig Lewenstein Weyermann. After their deaths before the German invasion of the Netherlands, the Lewenstein family faced Nazi persecution. The artwork was sold at auction in 1940 under unclear circumstances amid the turmoil, and subsequently changed hands, eventually coming under the ownership of Bayern LB (formerly Bayerische Landesbank) in 1972.

In 2023, following a detailed review of the painting’s provenance, the German government’s advisory commission on Nazi-looted art recommended restitution to the Lewenstein heirs. Bayern LB complied, returning the painting to the family. The commission concluded that, given the historical context and the lack of evidence to the contrary, the painting’s pre-1945 sale was likely involuntary and a result of Nazi persecution.

“The Colorful Life,” created in 1907 during Kandinsky’s time in Paris with artist Gabriele Münter, reflects a formative period in the artist’s career. It is his largest canvas from that era and merges avant-garde influences encountered in Paris with motifs drawn from Russian folklore and culture. The scene features vibrantly dressed figures engaged in various activities across a dreamlike landscape. Keith Gill, vice chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s, underscored the rarity of works from this critical phase in Kandinsky’s development and noted that many others from this period remain in museum collections.

The painting’s public exhibition has been scheduled across several international locations, with showings in Zurich, Paris, New York, and Hong Kong this September, followed by the London display starting October 8.

The Lewenstein family has previously recovered two additional artworks looted during the Nazi era, including Kandinsky’s 1909 “Painting With Houses” and a work by Dutch artist Jan Sluijters. The restitution process for “Painting With Houses” involved a protracted legal dispute with the City of Amsterdam. Francesca Lewenstein Davis, one of the family’s heirs, emphasized the broader significance of such restitution efforts for Jewish families impacted by Nazi persecution.

Despite these successes, the Lewenstein heirs continue efforts to recover an estimated 100 other artworks, many of which are lesser-known pieces, drawings, or prints. James Palmer, founder of Mondex Corporation, which assists in locating Nazi-looted art, highlighted the challenges involved in tracking these missing works, some of which have appeared on auction markets in recent years.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.