Those bringing the charge are the heirs of the subject of the 1908 Matisse portrait. In 1908 Matisse painted a portrait of a woman called Margarete Moll (who went by the name of Greta). The descendants of Margarete Moll, her three grandchildren (Oliver Williams and Margarete Green, of the U.K., and Iris Filmer, of Germany), claim that the painting was illegally taken towards the end of World War II and then displayed in the National Gallery. The grandchildren are seeking $30 million in compensation or return of the painting.
Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse was a celebrated French artist and his paintings and other art works are among the most highly prized in the art world. Matisse is well regarded for both his use of color and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. Moll was a German sculptor, painter and author. Moll worked with many German artists throughout her life, and was a student of Matisse in her early years. Much of Moll’s art was destroyed and criticized by Nazis because it was modern art.
It is towards the end of World War II the grandchildren claim that the portrait of Moll by Matisse was taken by one of her students. The painting was then sold onto to several art galleries before being acquired by the British gallery in 1979. The painting is considered a masterpiece of Matisse’s fauve period.
The grandchildren claim that Matisse gifted the painting to Moll. The British gallery denies the painting was stolen and has robustly indicated, according to the BBC, that even if it is found out the painting was stolen the gallery will not be returning it. Here the gallery indicates it “would not, even if the theft were proved, be under any obligation to return the painting to the family.”
The case is being heard in the U.S., with proceedings beginning in a federal court in New York in early September 2016.
