Pablo Picasso’s 1904 painting Woman Ironing will stay with the Guggenheim Foundation after Manhattan Supreme Court dismissed a restitution lawsuit. The court ruled the lawsuit, filed by Thomas Bennigson, failed to prove “actionable duress,” according to Law.com.
Bennigson, a descendant of German Jewish art collector Karl Adler, claimed Adler sold the painting in 1938 under Nazi persecution for $1,552, a fraction of its $14,000 value. The painting is now valued at $150-$200 million.
Justice Andrew Borrok noted the Adler family had long known the painting was with the Guggenheim and did not previously claim duress. He stated the plaintiffs failed to show specific coercion in the sale. The decision reflects broader challenges in art restitution cases, highlighted by recent dismissals, including claims over van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Bellotto’s The Marketplace at Pirna.
Selena Mattei