A New York Supreme Court has given art dealer David Nahmad 30 days to return Seated Man With a Cane, a 1918 painting by Amedeo Modigliani that has been at the center of a years-long restitution dispute.
The ruling follows an April decision that determined the work belongs to the estate of Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner, who left Paris as Nazi forces advanced. The court accepted the argument that the painting was unlawfully taken and later transferred, rejecting the Nahmad family's claim that the provenance remained uncertain.
According to the case record, Stettiner's grandson Philippe Maestracci pursued the return of the artwork with support from Mondex, a firm focused on recovering looted art. The Nahmad family has said it plans to appeal, arguing that witness testimony and research by Modigliani specialist Marc Restellini raise doubts about whether the canvas is the same work once owned by Stettiner.
The painting, acquired at auction in 1996 for $3.2 million, is now valued at more than $25 million. The case highlights how museums, collectors, and courts continue to shape the future of cultural restitution, with lasting implications for art history and provenance research.