Bellagio gallery gains 1928 Matisse portrait once stolen by Nazis

Gary Thompson

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

A Matisse portrait stolen by the Nazis and later returned to the owner's heirs has been added to the masterpieces on display at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.

"Odalisque," a vividly colored depiction of a North African harem woman painted by Henri Matisse during his "Nice period" in 1928, now hangs next to the artist's "Pineapple and Anemones."

The portrait and still life "cover his range of work and complete our collection of Matisse," considered by art historians one of the dominant painters of the first half of the 20th century, Mirage Resorts Inc. Chairman Steve Wynn said Monday.

"Matisse was famous for his still lifes and 'odalisques' " -- harem women from Morocco and Algeria who were the subjects of works by Delacroix and Renoir, among other artists, Wynn said.

"One of the things that makes this so fascinating is that this was stolen by the Nazis and later recovered and returned to the owner's family," Wynn said.

French collector and art dealer Paul Rosenberg had added "Odalisque" to his Paris gallery, which featured works by Picasso, Degas, Cezanne and Monet, in the 1930s.

During World War II, Nazis under the command of Field Marshal Hermann Goering, a Hitler henchman infamous for overseeing the plunder of occupied Europe's great works of art, stole the Rosenberg collection.

The whereabouts of the Matisse "Odalisque," also known as "Oriental Woman Seated on a Floor," remained unknown until 1954, when it surfaced at the Knoedler & Co. art gallery in New York. Perhaps coincidently, that was the year Matisse died.

That same year, Seattle timber mogul Prentice Bloedel bought the painting for $19,000, apparently unaware of its history. When Bloedel died, his family donated it to the Seattle Art Museum.

When a Bloedel grandson read the 1998 book "The Lost Museums: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World's Greatest Works of Art," he recognized the painting and notified the Rosenberg family.

The disclosure sparked investigations by the Seattle Art Museum's curators, independent French scholars and the Holocaust Art Restitution Project, which was created to form a database and investigate Jewish cultural losses during the Nazi's reign.

Convinced of the painting's provenance, the Seattle museum asked the Rosenberg family to sue it so it could file a counterclaim against the Knoedler gallery, Wynn said.

Ultimately, the Seattle museum's directors voted unanimously to return "Odalisque" to the Rosenberg family, one of whom contacted Wynn in August.

The Mirage chairman had just been named one of the world's top 10 art collectors by ARTnews magazine. Wynn, intrigued by the painting's history and reputation as one of Matisse's best portraits, was eager to acquire the piece.

While Wynn won't say what he paid, experts believe the Matisse is worth more than $10 million.

Elan Steinberg, executive director of the World Jewish Congress, lauded Wynn's purchase in a recent interview with Reuters.

"Clearly there is nothing improper in having a commodity returned to a rightful owner to lawfully do with as they see fit," he told the news service. "I certainly congratulate Mr. Wynn on his good taste."

The Matisse "Odalisque" joins perhaps one of the most stunning private collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art ever assembled, a collection bolstered by masterpieces from Rembrandt and Rubens dating back to 1603 and 1633.

In fact, said Wynn, an official at the Sotheby's auction firm told him last week that if the Bellagio collection were auctioned off today, "it would be the single largest sale in the history of art -- well in excess of $500 to $600 million."

Some pieces, he said, have more than doubled in value since he and Mirage acquired them.

Wynn said he and his wife Elaine bought another masterpiece Thursday that will go on display at the Bellagio gallery next year. But a confidentiality agreement with the previous owner prohibits him from identifying it until then.

The Bellagio gallery houses works by some of history's greatest artists, including Renoir, Monet, Cezanne and others.

A recent expansion allows for more vivid displays of the artwork, which is now highlighted by dramatic illumination that sets each painting off against a dark background framed by elegant wood furnishings and lush carpeting that absorbs distracting sounds and light.

The move also allows more people to view the art. The original gallery was able to accommodate up to 750,000 people annually, while the new facility can handle more than 1 million with ease.

Admission is $6 for Nevada residents, $12 for nonresidents.