France, March 24 -- Works by the early 20th-century Jewish artist Ary Arcadie Lochakov are being sent from San Francisco back to Paris,where they'll be housed in the Museum of Jewish Art and History. There are few clues as to how the artworks mysteriously appeared in the US, eight decades afterLochakov's death in Nazi-occupied Paris.

A Port of San Francisco employee,Jermaine Joseph, came across the artworks during his maintenance rounds along the city's waterfront in May 2022.The 48 drawings, prints and paintings were arranged on a bench, some fixed with stones to prevent them from blowing away.

Together with colleagues, he gathered the art and took it back to headquarters. They wanted to know where it had come from but had no leads. Lo...