US Congress permanently removes the deadline for Holocaust art restitution claims under the revised HEAR Act

Summary

US President signed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025 (HEAR Act) into law as Public Law 119-81 on 13 April 2026, permanently removing the six-year limitation period for Nazi Looted Art restitution claims in US federal and state courts. The original 2016 HEAR Act had created a six-year claims window from the moment a claimant had actual knowledge of the identity, location and right to the artwork. Critics argued the deadline was too short given the complexity of Holocaust-era provenance research and the difficulty of tracing heirs. The revised law also explicitly restricts the use of laches (delay-based defences) by museums and collectors seeking to defeat restitution suits on procedural grounds. Over 100,000 works of art looted by the Nazi regime are estimated to remain unrecovered. On April 3, ten days before the new law's signing, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the return of Amedeo Modigliani's Seated Man With a Cane to the heir of its original owner, Oscar Stettiner, after an 11-year legal battle.

The split

US Jewish press and Holocaust survivor organisations celebrated the law as a significant step, arguing that the original 2016 deadline had expired before many claimants could gather the necessary documentation. US museum industry coverage was more cautious, noting that the removal of the statute of limitations creates open-ended legal exposure for institutions holding works acquired in the mid-twentieth century when provenance standards were lower. German and Austrian press followed the law carefully given that German and Austrian museums hold significant collections with wartime provenance gaps. Israeli media framed the Modigliani ruling and the new HEAR Act as evidence that the US legal system remains the most effective venue for restitution actions, ahead of European courts. Art market analysts noted that the law will increase provenance scrutiny costs for auction houses and collectors purchasing pre-1945 European art.

By the numbers

• April 13, 2026, date the revised HEAR Act signed into law (Public Law 119-81)
• 6 years, the prior claims window established by the 2016 HEAR Act (now removed)
• 100,000+, works of art looted by the Nazi regime estimated to remain unrecovered
• April 3, 2026, date of the Modigliani Seated Man With a Cane return order
• 11 years, duration of the Stettiner-heir legal battle for the Modigliani

Why it matters

The revised HEAR Act is the primary legal instrument in the United States for Nazi Looted Art restitution and its strengthening has immediate implications for every major US museum holding European art acquired in or around the Nazi period. The Modigliani ruling on April 3 illustrated what successful claims look like under a favourable legal environment. For Jewish communities, Holocaust survivor organisations and academic provenance researchers, the removal of the deadline is a recognition that restitution timelines cannot be standardised when the underlying records remain incomplete and dispersed across archives in multiple countries. The law also has indirect effects on the German and Austrian restitution regimes, which are referenced in US court reasoning when applying the 2016 and 2026 HEAR Act standards.

What to watch

• New restitution suits filed in US courts following the law's signing
• How major US museums adjust their acquisition and loan policies in response to expanded liability
• Whether the Modigliani ruling is appealed and what precedent it sets for similar works
• European government reactions and whether any analogous legislation follows in Germany, Austria or the Netherlands