Court Orders Return of Nazi-Looted Modigliani Masterpiece to Jewish Heir
In a landmark ruling for art restitution, billionaire art dealer David Nahmad has been ordered by a New York court to surrender a valuable Amedeo Modigliani painting to the estate of a Jewish man who was robbed of the artwork during the Nazi occupation of France. The decision marks the culmination of a decades-long legal battle over ownership of the prized portrait.
The Painting and Its Troubled History
The artwork in question is Modigliani's 1918 oil painting titled 'Seated Man With a Cane', which depicts a chocolate merchant wearing a hat and tie. According to The New York Times, the piece has been valued at approximately $25 million. The painting originally belonged to Oscar Stettiner, a Jewish antiques dealer who operated a shop in Paris before World War II.
During the Nazi occupation, the artwork was unlawfully seized from Stettiner's establishment. After the war ended in 1945, Stettiner filed a legal claim in 1946, and a French court ruled in his favor, ordering the painting's return. Tragically, the artwork had already been sold to an unknown buyer who no longer possessed it, preventing Stettiner from recovering his property before his death in 1948.
The Legal Battle and Recent Ruling
On Friday, New York Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen delivered a decisive verdict, stating that 'Oscar Stettiner owned or at a minimum had a superior right of possession of the painting prior to its unlawful seizure.' The judge ordered Nahmad, whose holding company International Art Center currently owns the painting, to return it to Stettiner's estate.
Justice Cohen found the evidence connecting Stettiner to the painting compelling, noting records showing Stettiner had lent the work for a 1930 exhibition in Venice. 'The evidence shows a straightforward and persuasive chain of ownership/right of possession flowing directly from Mr. Stettiner to Nazi seizure to a forced sale,' the judge declared in his ruling.
Decades of Concealment and Resistance
The painting resurfaced decades later at a Christie's auction in 1996, where Nahmad's firm International Art Center purchased it. The artwork has been stored in Switzerland ever since. The Nahmad family, which has been in the art business for generations, vigorously resisted efforts by Stettiner's estate to recover the painting.
The lawsuit against Nahmad and his holding company was filed in 2015 by Stettiner's grandson, Philippe Maestracci, with assistance from Mondex, a company specializing in recovering stolen art. For years, the case focused on whether Nahmad was even connected to International Art Center, the company that bought the painting three decades ago. Eventually, Nahmad conceded he ran the company.
Defense Arguments and Family Response
In his defense, Nahmad pointed out that he had loaned the painting to several museums, including the Jewish Museum in Manhattan in 2004. 'If you had any doubt about looted art, would you really lend it to a Jewish museum?' Nahmad told The New York Times in 2016.
Justice Cohen acknowledged that while the Stettiner family had been misled about the painting's whereabouts for fifty years, the Nahmad family was not responsible for that deception. However, the judge emphasized that this did not affect Stettiner's superior claim to the artwork.
Phillip Landrigan, an attorney for the Stettiner estate, accused Nahmad and his lawyers of prolonging litigation in hopes that 'the heir would be forced to give up.'
A Long-Awaited Victory
James Palmer, founder of Mondex, expressed his client's profound relief following the ruling. 'Our client, Mr. Maestracci, is overwhelmed with joy and the satisfaction that after so many years the quest of his grandfather has finally been fulfilled,' Palmer told The Times. 'We now look forward to Mr. Nahmad to abide by his promise to return the painting upon receiving the order of the court, which today he has now received.'
The case represents a significant victory for Holocaust restitution efforts and highlights the ongoing global struggle to return Nazi-looted artworks to their rightful owners or their descendants. Modigliani, an Italian painter who spent his adulthood in Paris creating portraits and nudes in a distinctive surreal style, has become one of the most sought-after artists in restitution cases due to the number of his works that were stolen during World War II.
