A New York Judge Gives Dealer David Nahmad 30 Days To Return Nazi-Looted Modigliani Painting
A New York Supreme Court judge ruled on Tuesday, June 16, that billionaire dealer David Nahmad has 30 days to return Amedeo Modigliani’s Seated Man With a Cane (1918), valued at more than $25 million, after an 11-year restitution case. In April, the court determined the painting belonged to the estate of Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner, who left it behind when fleeing Paris ahead of the Nazi occupation, rejecting the Nahmad family’s argument that the provenance was unclear. The Nahmads bought the work at Christie’s in 1996 for $3.2 million and have argued, including via a May motion, that eyewitnesses Frederic Allain and Odile Cartlotti-Alain could show the seized painting was a different Modigliani; they also cited research by expert Marc Restellini. Stettiner’s grandson Philippe Maestracci pursued the claim with recovery firm Mondex, and his lawyer Phillip C. Landrigan said an appeal could delay restitution by up to five years; the court also rebuffed Nahmad’s claim that the work belonged to an offshore entity, International Art Center, after links surfaced in the Panama Papers.
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This story was covered in AI Museums, Restitution Heat, and History Wars