We Don’t Own that Modigliani

"The news that the billionaire New York art dealers David Nahmad and his son Helly were being sued for the return of a 1918 work by Modigliani allegedly looted by the Nazis made it to the British and American tabloid press in November. Now, in a legal twist, lawyers acting on behalf of the Nahmad family say that the case is unfounded because the Manhattan-based Helly Nahmad Gallery does not own the work. In court papers, the Nahmads’ legal team says instead that an organisation called the International Art Center (IAC) possesses the piece and that 'Helly Nahmad Gallery never owned the painting [which] is not in New York State… the plaintiff has sued the wrong defendant.' But lawyers for Philippe Maestracci, who is claiming Modigliani’s Seated Man with a Cane, contend that the 'International Art Center is an offshore entity used by the Nahmad defendants as an instrumentality to hold their interests in works, around 90% of which are held in an art storage facility at the free port of Geneva.' They add that the art centre’s holdings are estimated at between $3bn and $4bn." - Gareth Harris