COURT ORDERS MODIGLIANI PAINTING TO BE RETURNED TO HEIRS OF OSCAR STETTINER

NEW YORK, JUNE 20 /SRNA/ – The Supreme Court of the U.S. state of New York has given the family of art dealer David Nahmad 30 days to return a painting by Amedeo Modigliani to the heirs of art collector Oscar Stettiner, from whom it was stolen during the Second World War.

Modigliani’s 1918 painting, Seated Man with a Cane, valued at more than $25 million, was purchased by the Nahmad family at an auction in 1996 for $3.2 million, according to Adnkronos.

According to the court, the artwork was stolen or unlawfully transferred during the escape of the Jewish collector and art dealer Oscar Stettiner from Paris following the Nazi occupation.

The Nahmad family maintains that the painting’s provenance was not sufficiently clear and that there is no conclusive evidence linking the work currently in their possession to the one that belonged to Stettiner.

The family’s lawyers said they intend to appeal, arguing that several witnesses and specialized studies cast doubt on the painting’s identity.

The dispute over the artwork lasted 11 years and concluded with the New York court ruling that the painting must be returned to Stettiner’s heirs, who claim to be its rightful owners.

Stettiner’s heirs, represented by lawyers and companies specializing in the recovery of looted artworks, welcomed the ruling as a decisive step toward the restitution of property stolen during Nazi persecution.