Art Collector Sues Detroit Museum, Claiming Van Gogh Painting Is Stolen
Brazilian art collector Gustavo Soter recently filed a complaint against the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), claiming that a Vincent van Gogh painting hanging in the museum is allegedly the missing piece he’s been trying to locate for years.
According to Soter, Une liseuse de romans (1888), which currently sits in the gallery’s Van Gogh in America exhibition, could be worth more than US$5 million. Though, in the show, the wall text accompanying the painting says it is owned by a private collection in São Paulo.
The DIA’s Van Gogh exhibition comes as part of the museum’s feat to be the first in the United States to have purchased a work by the artist, which could lead to a rather ironic scenario should one of the works in the collection be revealed to be a stolen piece.
Soter claims he initially purchased the painting for US$3.7 million from Torrealba Holdings Ltd in 2017. However, once he proceeded with the payment, the painting was allegedly transferred to an “unnamed third party,” unbeknownst to him.
It would seem that this third party may have loaned the work to the DIA, and Soter is seeking the institution’s help to allow him to regain possession of the painting once its display at the exhibit ends on January 22, 2023.
As per USA Today, following the filing, a federal judge has ordered the artwork not to be moved, damaged, destroyed, or concealed till a court hearing takes place. Painted on canvas, Van Gogh’s piece depicts a young woman reading a yellow book while in a yellow library.
The museum released a statement saying that prior to agreeing to international loans, it “follows best practices,” which includes research of the ownership from scholarly sources, the Art Loss Register, and the US Federal Register.
Will the real provenance of the Van Gogh painting eventually be revealed? Fingers crossed the work gets returned to its rightful owner soon enough.
[via ARTnews and USA Today, cover image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)]
