Marie Gicquel / Photo credit: SNARK ARCHIVES / PHOTO12 VIA AFP 15:00 p.m., August 29, 2023

For nearly 100 years, the French state has been trying to recover a painting by Dutch artist Kees Van Dongen that is, in reality, a portrait of the writer Anatole France, painted in 1921. The painting, initially offered to the France, had been mistakenly sold to a collector before landing in the collection of the American Ford family.

The story surrounding this work is worthy of a novel. Painted in 1921 by Dutch artist Kees Van Dongen, a portrait of French writer Anatole France is now eagerly demanded by Paris in the United States. A strange journey that originates from an accidental sale. Because its author had initially offered it to the French state before accidentally selling it to a collector who, himself, sold it to the American Ford family for 80,000 dollars.

This canvas is a large portrait 1.80m high in which Anatole France, then 77 years old, appears very wise with his white beard, his cane in one hand, a hat in the other and a touch of green on his nose. An almost royal portrait of the writer who, at the time, was about to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

"The war intervened and everyone forgot"

A painting with an incredible destiny that led him into the hands of the Ford family in which he has been for more than 50 years. And today, the French State claims it, because this painting belongs to it, as Kees Van Dongen had stipulated in writing. "Legally, all the cards are good for us and the deal is perfect for the France. The state had started lawsuits in the late 30s, but war intervened and everyone forgot. And the Internet has made it possible to find this painting, which was not possible before, "says lawyer Joseph Smallhoover, in charge of this case.

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The work was therefore found in 2021 when the Ford family had organized an auction of its collection in which was located the famous painting whose sale was canceled. The canvas could therefore be estimated at 350,000 euros, even if negotiations are still ongoing.