Argentina recovers long-lost Italian painting looted by Nazis during WWII

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine federal court announced Wednesday that authorities had recovered the long-lost “Portrait of a Lady,” an 18th-century work by the Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi that was looted by the Nazis in World War II.

Before the presentation of the giant gold-framed portrait Wednesday in the Argentine coastal city of Mar del Plata, the painting had not been seen publicly in 80 years.

The first-ever color photo of the portrait surfaced last month in an online real estate listing unwittingly posted by one of the daughters of Friedrich Kadgien, the fugitive Nazi officer accused of stealing the painting from one of Europe’s most prominent prewar art dealers and collectors.

“We’re doing this simply so that the community to whom we partly owe the discovery of the work ... can see these images,” federal prosecutor Daniel Adler said in a press conference to display the full-length portrait of Countess Colleoni, her hair ink-black and dress embroidered with pastel flowers.

“It was people from the community, specifically journalists, who prompted the investigation," Adler said.

Dutch journalists made the shocking discovery while investigating Kadgien’s past in Argentina, where the high-ranking official fled after the collapse of the Third Reich and later died in 1978.

News of the find thrilled historians the world over and eventually reached the heirs of the painting’s original owner, Dutch-Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker. He died in a shipwreck after fleeing Amsterdam ahead of advancing German troops in May 1940.

His descendants have sought to recover an estimated 1,100 paintings missing since the forced sale of Goudstikker’s extensive inventory to Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Göring, who built up a major art collection during WWII.

The sudden reappearance of “Portrait of a Lady” last week was fleeting. Within hours of the story’s publication in Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad last Monday, the real estate listing was taken down. Police raided the rustic Mar del Plata home of Patricia Kadgien, the Nazi officer’s daughter, but the painting wasn’t there.

Authorities earlier this week raided other homes belonging to the Kadgien sisters in Mar del Plata, seizing paintings and engravings that they similarly suspected of having been stolen during the 1940s.

Argentina’s federal prosecutor’s office placed Patricia Kadgien and her husband under house arrest pending a hearing Thursday on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice.

Adler, the prosecutor, told reporters that the couple’s lawyer had handed over the painting to authorities earlier Wednesday. He did not specify where the portrait would go next.

An art expert invited to assist with the investigation, Ariel Bassano, said the painting was being “stored in a special chamber” for safekeeping.

“It’s in good condition given its age,” Bassano said, dating the portrait to 1710 and valuing it at roughly $50,000.

It’s not clear exactly how the painting came into the possession of Kadgien, who worked as a financial adviser to Göring.

DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Giuseppe Ghislandi's 18th-century painting "Portrait of a Lady," reportedly stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II and discovered in the home of his daughter after appearing in a real estate listing, is displayed during a press conference by Prosecutor Daniel Adler in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Heit)

Giuseppe Ghislandi's 18th-century painting "Portrait of a Lady," reportedly stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II and discovered in the home of his daughter after appearing in a real estate listing, is displayed during a press conference by Prosecutor Daniel Adler in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Heit)

Giuseppe Ghislandi's 18th-century painting "Portrait of a Lady," reportedly stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II and discovered in the home of his daughter after appearing in a real estate listing, is displayed during a press conference by Prosecutor Daniel Adler in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Heit)

Prosecutor Daniel Adlers gives a press conference in front of Giuseppe Ghislandi's 18th-century painting "Portrait of a Lady," reportedly stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II and discovered in the home of his daughter after appearing in a real estate listing, in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Heit)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court will decide whether to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that has put a spotlight on the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.

The Alaska Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday in the case against Tupe Smith, who was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. Smith has said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials in the community of Whittier when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.

American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.

American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.

Smith's attorneys have asked the appeals court to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Smith's supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state has argued that Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.

State prosecutors separately have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in Whittier, including Smith’s husband, Michael Pese.

Thursday's arguments centered on the meaning of the word intentionally.

Smith “and others like her who get caught up in Alaska’s confusing election administration system and do not have any intent to mislead or deceive should not face felony voter misconduct charges,” one of her attorneys, Whitney Brown, told the court.

But Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said that as part of ensuring election integrity, it's important that oaths being relied upon are accurate.

About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the Anchorage courthouse before Thursday’s hearing to support Smith. Some carried signs that read, ”We support Samoans.”

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.

“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said.

In a court filing in 2024, one of Smith's previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote."

Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.

Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”

The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”

The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Doyle said in a court filing last year.

One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, has said the appeals court could dismiss the case or send it back to the lower court “to consider whether the state can meet the standard it has set forth for voter misconduct.” The state also could decide to file other charges if the case is dismissed, he said.

The court did not give a timeline for when it would issue a ruling.

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, left, stands with supporters of Tupe Smith gathered Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter misconduct case brought against American Samoa native Tupe Smith by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Supporters of Tupe Smith gather outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter misconduct case brought against American Samoa native Tupe Smith by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)