The New York Supreme Court has ordered dealer David Nahmad to return the Nazi-looted Amedeo Modigliani painting *Seated Man With a Cane* (1918) to Philippe Maestracci, grandson of the late Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner, within 30 days. The ruling follows an April decision by Judge Joel M. Cohen ordering restitution, but Nahmad’s lawyers are appealing, arguing that eyewitness testimony and research by Modigliani expert Marc Restellini prove the painting in question is not the one stolen by the Nazis. Maestracci’s lawyer warns that an appeal could delay restitution by another five years.
This case matters because it highlights the ongoing legal and moral complexities of Holocaust-era art restitution, pitting a billionaire dealer’s claims against a family’s decades-long pursuit of justice. The dispute centers on whether the painting Nahmad bought in 1996 for $3.2 million (now worth an estimated $30 million) is the same work looted from Stettiner. The outcome could set a precedent for how courts weigh eyewitness testimony and expert research in restitution cases, and it underscores the persistent challenges heirs face in recovering looted art even after favorable court rulings.