Yale Sues to Keep Van Gogh

Fellow appraiser Christine Guernsey sent me an article from the Yale Daily News about a disputed Van Gogh in the Yale art collection. The 1888 Night Cafe painting by Van Gogh (see image) was confiscated by from a Russian aristocrat after the revolution when Lennin nationalized all Russian property. A family member is trying to gain ownership of the painting from Yale. Yale, being proactive in order to maintain ownership has now brought suit against the family member, claiming the property legitimately belongs to the University. It seems ownership issues of cultural property continues to find their way into the court systems. It is a difficult process in determining both the legal and ethical issues of such situations.

The YDN reports Yale filed suit Monday against Pierre Konowaloff, who claims to be the rightful owner of Vincent van Gogh’s renowned 1888 painting “The Night Café,” which is housed in the Yale University Art Gallery.

According to the suit, filed in the United States District Court in Connecticut, Konowaloff claims to be the heir of Ivan Morozov, a Russian aristocrat who owned the painting in 1918. Last July, Konowaloff’s attorney sent a letter to Jock Reynolds, director of the Yale University Art Gallery, threatening legal action, according to the suit. Yale will fight to keep the painting, Reynolds told the News on Tuesday night.

“It’s been in our collection for 50 years,” he said. “There is no wrong to be addressed.”

In December 1918, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Soviet government at the time, nationalized most private property, including Morozov’s art collection. His seized collection included “The Night Café.”

To raise money, the Soviets sold the painting to a German art museum in 1933, which then sold it to the Knoedler Gallery in New York City.

Stephen Clark 1903, who began to collect art after serving in the army during World War I, purchased “The Night Café” from the Knoedler Gallery in 1933 or 1934, according to the suit.

When Clark died in 1960, he bequeathed the painting to the University. Yale added the painting to its permanent collection in 1961 and hung it for public view in the gallery, garnering widespread media coverage about the donation.

Konowaloff contends that the Soviet nationalization of property was illegal and, therefore, the painting should be returned to him, Morozov’s rightful heir.

To read the Yale Daily News article, click HERE.