Dealer David Nahmad given 30 days to return Nazi-looted Modigliani painting

On 16 June, the New York Supreme Court ruled that dealer David Nahmad must return Amedeo Modigliani’s Seated Man With a Cane (1918) within 30 days to Philippe Maestracci, grandson of Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner, following an April restitution decision by Judge Joel M. Cohen. Nahmad’s lawyers said they will appeal, arguing the painting Nahmad’s client bought in 1996 for $3.2 million (now estimated at $30 million) is not the same work looted by the Nazis. They cite proposed eyewitness testimony from photographer Frederic Allain and film producer Odile Carlotti-Allain, who claim the hidden Modigliani they saw was smaller and depicted a different figure, and research by Modigliani expert Marc Restellini that they say challenges Stettiner’s ownership. Maestracci’s lawyer Phillip C. Landrigran said further appeals could delay restitution for years and noted that prior appeals in the long-running case have been denied.

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