VincentVanGogh

Yale Sued by Former Van Gogh Owner

Filed under: Art

Pierre Konowaloff believes that Van Gogh's painting, "The Night Café," was stolen from his great-grandfather during the Communist takeover of Russia. Now, it belongs to Yale University, and he wants it back.

According to this claim, Ivan Morozov acquired the painting in 1908 and owned it until the Russian government snatched it in the 1918 "change" to Communism. What was Morozov's, it seems, became Lenin's. Then, it passed through galleries in Europe and New York until it was eventually left to Yale by a collector in 1961.

The hook, for Konowaloff, is that Yale took the painting "with reason to know that it had been unlawfully confiscated or 'nationalized' without compensation," according to a report in Bloomberg.

This isn't the only claim that Yale is facing. The university also has to contend with a suit by the Republic of Peru, which wants to reclaim artifacts excavated from Machu Picchu.

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Tags: art, artist, artwork, communism, communist, communist party, CommunistParty, communists, machu picchu, MachuPicchu, russia, scandal, scandals, van gogh, VanGogh, vincent van gogh, VincentVanGogh, yale, yale university, YaleUniversity

Van Gogh Painting is a Fake

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

When Rupert Murdoch's father, Keith Murdoch, staged a contemporary art exhibit in Australia in 1939, Vincent Van Gogh's "Head of a Man" was on display. It was later purchased by Australia's National Gallery of Victoria for $3,500 and has been a part of their collection ever since. However, last August, when the painting was shown at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland, critics noticed something wasn't right. The work, dated 1886, appeared to be of a different style than other Van Gogh paintings during the same period. What's more, the painting was never mentioned in the artist's letters.

"Head of a Man" was then sent to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam where experts have now declared it to be a fake. Gerard Vaughan, director of the National Gallery of Victoria, says the painting was most likely the work of a Van Gogh contemporary and makes clear that the painting was simply misattributed, not a deliberate forgery. Had the painting been authentic, it would have been valued at around $21 million.

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Tags: art, australia national gallery of victoria, AustraliaNationalGalleryOfVictoria, dean gallery, DeanGallery, fake, forgery, head of a man, HeadOfAMan, painting, rupert murdoch, RupertMurdoch, van gogh, VanGogh, vincent van gogh, VincentVanGogh

L'Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux to be Auctioned

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions

Have that bare spot on the wall that you just have to fill? How about a 26 x 21 masterpiece by Vincent Van Gogh. Christie's New York will auction off this important work by Van Gogh on May 2nd. It has been in the Bawkin Family collection and will come to sale with other Impressionist and Modern works in an evening sale. Expected to bring over $40 million, the painting was originally intended as a gift from Van Gogh to his friend and fellow painter, Gauguin. Painted while Van Gogh was in the Asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, it is a portrait of a woman both men knew. The rest of the auction catalog has not been revealed, so look for some other fine works to come from this auction as well.

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Tags: Art, Christies, vincent van gogh, VincentVanGogh