WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a ruling for a California museum in a dispute over ownership of two German Renaissance masterpieces seized by the Nazis in World War II.
The high court on Monday declined to get involved in the case, leaving in place lower court rulings.
A federal appeals court ruled in 2018 for Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum of Art, blocking a lawsuit over ownership of “Adam” and “Eve.” The paintings are by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Marei von Saher sued over the works. They were taken by Nazis in a forced sale from her father-in-law, a Jewish art dealer in the Netherlands. After the war, the Dutch government sold the paintings. The museum acquired them in 1971.
A Dutch court previously ruled against von Saher.
