Met Being Sued for Return of a Cezanne

Bloomberg is reporting a Parisian man, Pierre Konowaloff is suing the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for the return of Cezanne's Madame Cezanne in the Conservatory, painted in 1891.Our first instinct is to think there might be a connection to Nazi looted art, but that is not the case.  Here, the situation is based upon the Russian revolution and Vladimir Lenin confiscating art. Konowaloff's great grandfather had his possessions confiscated and his home turned into a museum.

The painting was purchased by Konowaloff's great grandfather in 1911 and it was confiscated in 1918.  It was eventually purchased by an heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune who directed Knodler Gallery to pursue the painting.  The painting was donated to the Met in 1960.

The Met claims it is aware of the provenance and that it holds property title and ownership rights. Konowaloff is also involved in legal claim filed by Yale University over another painting.

Bloomberg reports

The Met said in a statement that it has been open about the provenance and will fight the suit.

“The Museum firmly believes it has good title to the painting and that this lawsuit is totally without merit,” the Met said.

Collection Seized

Konowaloff’s great-grandfather was Ivan Morozov, a Russian textile merchant who collected modern art and bought the Cezanne in 1911, according to the suit. Morozov’s collection was seized on Lenin’s orders in 1918 and Morozov’s home was converted into a state museum.

Clark “employed a Soviet laundering operation” to get the painting and directed the New York gallery Knoedler to secretly buy it for him, according to the complaint.

Frank Del Deo, the gallery’s current president, didn’t return a call for comment.

Konowaloff claims he became the official heir to the Morozov collection in 2002, when his father died. He eventually learned that Clark bought the artwork and bequeathed it to the museum. He demanded its return, to no avail.

Last year, Yale University sued Konowaloff to “quiet its good title” to Vincent van Gogh’s “The Night Cafe,” it said in its suit. Like the Cezanne, the Van Gogh was bequeathed by Clark, according to the suit.

Yale said in its pending complaint that Konowaloff’s argument implies that “American courts should try to undo the entire program of property reform undertaken by the Russian government in the early part of the 20th century, invalidating the transfers of title of Russian citizens’ property that Russia effectuated within its own borders.”

To read the full Bloomberg article, click HERE.