Lawsuit: Cezanne at NYC's Met wrongly acquired

[December 10, 2010]  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/

[Associated Press]

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