$300M lawsuit is a Gogh

ART collector Stuart Pivar — who founded the New York Academy of Art with Andy Warhol in 1980 and was once an art consultant for Jeffrey Epstein — is suing the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for $300 million after it refused to authenticate a painting he claims is a long-lost work by the Dutch master.

Pivar insists that the artwork, which depicts a scenic view of a wheat field bisected by a railway, titled “Auvers, 1890” and inscribed “Vincent,” is authentic. But the museum, the only authority in the world that can authenticate Van Gogh’s artworks, insists it’s a fake.

So Pivar, 90, filed a complaint with the New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday alleging the museum was negligent because it failed to view the painting in real life and made its judgment based on only pictures.

“At no time did the Defendant [the museum] seek to view the actual Painting or engage the Plaintiff [Pivar] in obtaining scientific or forensic tests of the Painting’s paint surface, canvas or other physical elements,” says the filing. “Defendant rejected the authenticity of the Painting after nothing more than a cursory review of electronic photographs.”

The art collector is asking for an astonishing $300 million, which he believes to be the fair market price of a real Van Gogh. Pivar told Page Six: “The museum denies everything because they are unprincipled. They don’t want to accept new things and do not professionally address the investigation of a new painting. Instead, they have immediate opinions. It ultimately results in the death of the painting.”

A report by the museum’s senior researchers states the view in the piece was unlike any in Auvers. It snarks, “The particular viewpoint leads to another problem: It is simply impossible to take up such a high position anywhere near Auvers, except way up in the air with a helicopter.” A letter sent by the museum’s lawyer to Pivar further states a court in Amsterdam has exclusive jurisdiction to hear any disputes with the Van Gogh Museum.