The heir of the Jewish art dealer who fled from Paris during the Second World War, has filed suit to Helly Nahmad Gallery demanding the return of his painting "Seated man with a cane"

Amedeo Modigliani
seated man with a cane. 1918
Source: courthousenews.com

American legal news resource Courthouse News Service reports that a French citizen filed a claim to being in New York Art Gallery, which, according to him, he refuses to return the painting owned by Amedeo Modigliani (Amedeo Modigliani, 1884-1920) «Seated man with a cane" (1918). Maestrachchi Philippe (Philippe Maestracci) is the grandson and sole heir of a Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner (Oscar Stettiner), a collection of which the Nazis had sold during the Second World War. Maestrachchi sued Gallery Helly Nahmad, hoping to regain his job, which belonged to his grandfather, who owned a gallery in the French capital.

In the lawsuit to the gallery said that the Nazis used to" take away the property of Jewish families, which turned the occupied territories, with the help of forced sales. "According to Maestrachchi, in 1930, his grandfather gave now located in New York work by Modigliani for exposure at the Venice Biennale. In 1939 Stettiner had to leave Paris because of the threat of Nazi invasion, and his collection he left to fend for themselves.

In 1941, the Nazis appointed a certain Marcel Philippon (Marcel Philippon) direct the sale of the property Stettiner. As a result of work by Modigliani was sold July 3, 1944.

After the war, trying to find a picture of Stettiner, but to no avail. Art dealer died in 1948, and with As long as it says in the lawsuit of his grandson, the heirs "to make consistent and persistent efforts" to restore art collection of Oscar Stettiner. The whereabouts of paintings by Modigliani Philippe Maestrachchi became known in 2008 when the company Sotheby's said that America's gallery Helly Nahmad will put the work up for auction.

heir to the late art dealer wrote a letter to the gallery with the requirement to return the picture, but no response to his message is not received. The lawsuit Philip Maestrachchi refers to the fact that sale, held on July 3, 1944, was invalid because it occurred without the consent of the owner with a violation of international law and contrary to current law in New York State, as well as common law setting that forced sales, committed under the pressure of the Nazis should not be recognized valid.

Prepared by Mary Estrova, AI

Source : courthousenews.com , artinvestment.ru