Lawyers representing David Nahmad have requested a New York court to reconsider its recent ruling in the ongoing dispute concerning Amedeo Modigliani's renowned painting, Seated Man with a Cane (1918). They claim that new eyewitness testimony could significantly alter the case's trajectory.
Following the court's decision on April 3, which granted ownership of the artwork to the estate of dealer Oscar Stettiner, Nahmad's legal team contends that the painting in question may have been wrongly identified. The lawsuit was initiated by Stettiner's grandson, Philippe Maestracci, who, alongside the restitution firm Mondex, has been striving to reclaim the painting for over a decade. Valued at over $25 million, the artwork was acquired by a Nahmad-related company in 1996 and has since been housed in Switzerland.
The latest motion centers on two witnesses who assert they recall a different Modigliani piece once owned by the Van der Klip family in Paris. According to Nahmad's lawyers, this family acquired the painting during World War II and kept it concealed for several years. The witnesses describe the artwork they encountered as smaller and darker, lacking the depiction of a seated man or a cane, suggesting that the focus of the case may have been misplaced.
This assertion is partly supported by a newly submitted statement from Frédéric Allain, a long-time friend of the Van der Klip family. Allain recounted seeing a concealed Modigliani in their apartment that did not resemble Seated Man with a Cane. He described the piece as approximately 55 to 60 centimeters tall, featuring only a portion of a man's torso without a cane, and stated he came forward after reading about the court's ruling.
Nahmad's legal team argues this testimony reinforces their position that Mondex misidentified the painting. They reference a 1946 report that described the missing work as a self-portrait, which Seated Man with a Cane is not, and cite a new catalogue raisonné by scholar Marc Restellini, which purportedly finds no connection between the painting and Stettiner.
In response, Mondex has strongly countered these claims. James Palmer, an international consultant for the firm, urged Nahmad to cease using his financial resources to delay justice and to honorably return the painting as promised. He emphasized that even if another Modigliani had been in the Van der Klip residence, there is no evidence linking it to the artwork taken from Stettiner, who had possession of Seated Man with a Cane from 1944 until 1996.
This recent filing follows Judge Joel M. Cohen's ruling that the painting was indeed looted during World War II and should be returned to Stettiner's estate, dismissing Nahmad's arguments regarding ownership history. Nahmad's legal representatives have also filed a notice of appeal.
