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Paul Cezanne (French, 1839-1906), Madame Cezanne (nee Hortense Fiquet, 1850-1922) in the Conservatory, oil on canvas, 1891. From the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960. Image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Works of Art Collection Database. All rights reserved.

Lawsuit alleges Cezanne at NYC’s Met wrongly acquired

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Paul Cezanne (French, 1839-1906), Madame Cezanne (nee Hortense Fiquet, 1850-1922) in the Conservatory, oil on canvas, 1891. From the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960. Image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Works of Art Collection Database. All rights reserved.
Paul Cezanne (French, 1839-1906), Madame Cezanne (nee Hortense Fiquet, 1850-1922) in the Conservatory, oil on canvas, 1891. From the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960. Image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Works of Art Collection Database. All rights reserved.

NEW YORK (AP) – A man claims a Paul Cezanne painting at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum was stolen from his great-grandfather during the Russian Revolution.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Pierre Konowaloff sued the museum Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. The work is called Madame Cezanne in the Conservatory.

A collector bequeathed the work to the Met in 1960. The museum said in a statement that it believes it has good title to the painting and will fight the lawsuit.

Konowaloff, who lives in France, filed a similar lawsuit against Yale University last year over a work by Vincent Van Gogh. Yale says it is the rightful owner.

Konowaloff says he is the great-grandson of industrialist and aristocrat Ivan Morozov.

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Information from: The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com

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AP-CS-12-09-10 1035EST