In a significant recovery effort, the FBI’s Art Crime Team, in collaboration with its New York and New Orleans Field Offices and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, has repatriated a looted Claude Monet pastel, Bord de Mer, to its rightful owners. The artwork, created around 1865, was seized by the Nazis during World War II, leading the Parlagi family and their heirs to search for it for decades.
The pastel was purchased by the Parlagi family at an Austrian art auction in 1936 and became part of their collection. However, after the family fled Austria in 1938, their stored possessions were confiscated by the Gestapo. The Monet was subsequently sold to a Nazi art dealer in 1941 and disappeared from public view. In 2021, the investigation into the artwork’s whereabouts began after the FBI received information from the Commission for Looted Art in Europe.
In 2023, the Monet resurfaced at a Houston art gallery, prompting the FBI’s Art Crime Team, alongside NYPD detectives from the Major Theft Task Force, to contact the artwork’s then-owners, Dr. and Mrs. Kevin Schlamp. The couple, who had acquired the piece unaware of its looted history, cooperated fully with authorities and relinquished their ownership rights.
“Bringing this remarkable piece of art back to its rightful owners is a proud moment for the FBI,” said Chad Yarbrough, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “This case underscores the historical significance of cultural restitution and the importance of partnerships in recovering stolen art.”
A consent judgment was secured in May 2024, formally awarding ownership of the pastel to the Parlagi heirs. The repatriation was described by James Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York office, as invaluable to the Parlagi family. “The true worth of this Monet lies not in its market value, but in its connection to the family’s history and legacy,” Dennehy stated. “The emotions tied to reclaiming something taken so brutally can’t be measured in dollars—it’s priceless.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil of New Orleans praised the Schlamp family’s role in returning the stolen artwork, while also calling for ongoing support from the public and the art community to ensure similar future successes.
The FBI’s Art Crime Team, which specializes in investigating crimes involving cultural property, continues its efforts to recover other artworks looted from the Parlagi family, including a missing 1903 watercolor by Paul Signac, Seine in Paris (Pont de Grenelle). The painting, also believed to have been sold to a Nazi art dealer, may now be known under a different title.
To aid in the search, the Signac piece has been entered into the FBI’s National Stolen Art File (NSAF), a database used by law enforcement worldwide to track stolen cultural property. Those with information about the missing painting are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Art Crime Program at NYArtCrime@fbi.gov, submit tips via tips.fbi.gov, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or reach out to the nearest FBI office or U.S. Embassy.
The investigation remains ongoing, as the FBI and its partners continue to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage.
Feature Image: Claude Monet, pastel on paper, “Bord de Mer,” about 1865| Courtesy: FBI
