A 17th-century painting looted by Nazis during World War II has been discovered among offerings at Christie's London and will be returned to its lawful owners, reports the Times (London).

The Polish Embassy found the work, Pieter de Grebber's Study of a Reading Man, listed in the catalog "Losses of Polish Culture: Wartime Losses – Foreign Painting," published eight years ago in Poland. The work was withdrawn from auction and negotiations were held between Christie's, the consignor of the work, and the heirs of Abe Gutnajer, the prominent art and antiques dealer from whom the painting was stolen and who was murdered by the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942. The work will be ceremoniously returned to the heirs and will be auctioned on April 25 at Christie's, where it is estimated to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 ($40–60,000).

Gutnajer was survived by his son, Ludwik, who fought alongside the Allies with the Polish Armed Forces and moved after the war to the United States, where his wife and two children still live.