Collector's heirs praise deal to recover art seized in Second World War

This is a handout image of the John Constable painting "Dedham from Langham". (Pierre Bohrer / Musee des beaux-arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds)

GENEVA -- The Geneva lawyer for the heirs of a Jewish woman whose art collection was seized by France's pro-Nazi regime during the Second World War says they are "absolutely delighted" about a hard-won deal to recover from a Swiss town a 19th-century painting by English master John Constable.

Marc-Andre Renold said Monday that heirs of Anna Jaffe hope to recover "Dedham from Langham" later this month, after officials in La Chaux-de-Fonds last week approved the handover from the town's fine arts museum.

The arrangement follows a commitment of 80,000 euros (about $94,000) from France's reparations fund for victims of anti-Semitic laws under the pro-Nazi Vichy government.

The painting, said to be worth around 1 million Swiss francs (about $1 million), was confiscated from Jaffe's home after she died aged 90 in 1942.