National Gallery wins six-year legal battle over ‘stolen’ Matisse
THE National Gallery won a legal battle in New York last night in which three grandchildren of a muse of the artist Henri Matisse had sought to recover a painting they claimed was stolen.
The grandchildren had claimed Matisse’s Portrait of Greta Moll was stolen from their family in the aftermath of the Second World War.
However, a district judge in Manhattan dismissed the case, stating both that the museum and Britain were shielded by sovereign immunity and that the grandchildren had waited too long to bring the case.
The three grandchildren – Oliver Williams, from Kent; his cousin Margaret Green, who lives in East Yorkshire, and a third Germany-based cousin, Iris Filmer – claimed the National Gallery ignored signs that the 1908 painting might have been stolen, and should not profit from “war-related” theft.
The National Gallery claimed it bought the painting in good faith, is its rightful owner and fought the case “on behalf of the British people”.
The case was brought in New York because, the plaintiffs argued, the National Gallery has commercial interests in the US and profited from the work.
They had demanded the painting be handed over to them or be given $30million (£22million) in compensation. Last night’s decision brings to an end six years of wrangling over ownership of the painting. Matisse’s muse, Margarete Moll, known as Greta, sat for 10 three-hour sessions for the painting.
Moll’s husband Oskar bought the painting, which was later taken to Germany. Following Oskar’s death in 1947, Greta Moll left it with one of his former art students for safekeeping from looters in Switzerland. According to the grandchildren, the student absconded with the painting, which then passed through several hands, including the Knoedler gallery in Manhattan and Lefevre gallery in London, before the National Gallery bought it in 1979.
The plaintiffs claimed that a 2015 film, Woman In Gold – detailing the struggle of Maria Altmann, played by Helen Mirren, to reclaim possessions that were seized by the Nazis – showed that such cases were legally sound.
Sarah Andre, a lawyer for the museum, said: “We are particularly pleased with the district court’s recognition that this case does not involve a taking in violation of international law.”