The timing of the restitution is unclear, but Christopher Marinello, director of Art Recovery International, who is representing the Rosenberg family in their efforts to recover the Matisse, told ATG: "We are grateful to the museum for their commitment to upholding the Washington Principles and we hope now for the expeditious return of all looted works in the Gurlitt bequest to their rightful owners."
The latest set of announcements is expected to draw a line under the controversy that surrounded the discovery of two hoards of artworks, numbering more than 1500 pieces, dating from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and by some of the most revered names in art. The first hoard was uncovered in 2012 in the Munich apartment belonging to Cornelius Gurlitt, son of the 1930s art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, while the second hoard was later found in his Salzburg cottage.
Gurlitt senior acquired many of the works deemed 'degenerate' from German museums under the authority of the Nazis, but around a third of the hoard is thought to have been taken from Jewish families, including the Matisse, Femme Assise, which belonged to the art dealer Paul Rosenberg.
Cornelius Gurlitt had already agreed to hand it back before he died in May this year aged 81.
