The descendants of a renowned Parisian art collector are in a dispute with a Norwegian museum over ownership of a valuable, Nazi-looted Matisse painting. Paul Rosenberg purchased “Woman in Blue in Front of Fireplace” in 1937, the same year Henri Matisse painted the work. It was confiscated by Nazi forces in 1941, just one of an estimated 160 pieces—including Picassos, Renoirs and Cezannes—that SS guards were sent to seize from Rosenberg. Rosenberg fled to the US to escape deportation to …More

Jewish sisters Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone, whom Henri Matisse affectionately referred to as “my two Baltimore ladies,” exuded Victorian wealth in the early 20th century. But these two daughters of German-Jewish immigrants had a secret: a misunderstood passion for modern art. Before visionaries like Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne were recognized as masterful craftsmen, the Cone sisters were their patrons and their friends. “Collecting Matisse …More