New York Supreme Court Orders Return of Nazi-Looted Modigliani Painting by Art Dealer David Nahmad
The New York Supreme Court has ruled that David Nahmad, a Lebanese billionaire art dealer, must return a painting by Amedeo Modigliani that was looted by Nazis. The painting, titled 'Seated Man With a Cane,' was originally owned by Oscar Stettiner, a Jewish art dealer who fled Paris before the Nazi occupation in 1939. The painting was seized and resold, eventually being purchased by Nahmad at a Christie’s auction in 1996 for $3.2 million. It has been stored in Switzerland since then. Judge Joel M. Cohen stated that Stettiner had a superior right of possession and never voluntarily relinquished the painting. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed in 2015 by Philippe Maestracci, Stettiner’s grandson, and Mondex, a company dedicated to restituting Nazi-looted art. 
