Heirs of a Jewish former owner of a Vincent van Gogh painting asked Sotheby’s to withdraw the work from a New York auction days before the sale, The New York Times reported on Nov. 13, 2026.[1] The heirs argue the painting was sold under duress in 1936 as a consequence of Nazi persecution, the Times reported.[1] Sotheby’s said in a statement to the BBC that its research had not established that claim and that it was in dialogue with the family.[2]
Related: Starry Night Study Ties Van Gogh’s Sky to July 1889, but Experts Push Back.
What the heirs claim
The painting is “Châtaigniers en fleurs,” an 1890 oil known in English as “Blossoming Chestnut Trees.”[1] The claim comes from heirs of the Fischer family, the work’s earlier German owners.[2] The heirs live in the United States.[1]
The heirs say the painting was sold in Amsterdam before World War II because of financial losses their family’s publishing company suffered under the Nazis, the Times reported.[1] Their Berlin lawyer, Gunnar Schnabel, set out the demand in a Nov. 12 email to Marco Toracca, the head of Sotheby’s restitution department, the Times reported.[1]
Schnabel urged the auction house to prove the painting was sold at market value in 1936, the Times reported. “Otherwise,” Schnabel wrote, “no auction may take place.”[1] He wrote that his client “is prepared to work toward a fair and just solution in the spirit of the 1998 Washington Principles.”[1] The Washington Principles are international guidelines for handling art confiscated or looted by the Nazis.[1]
How Sotheby’s responded
“Sotheby’s takes provenance and restitution matters extremely seriously and has undertaken extensive research into the ownership history,” the auction house said in its statement to the BBC.[2]
“While our research to date has not established that the painting was sold under duress, we recognise the importance of engaging thoughtfully and constructively with the family,” Sotheby’s said.[2] The company said it was committed to “working toward a mutually satisfactory resolution.”[2]
The BBC’s Nov. 14 report listed the painting as still due for sale in New York on Wednesday.[2] The BBC said it had contacted the heirs’ lawyer for comment.[2]
The painting’s ownership history
Van Gogh painted the work in 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris.[1] It is one of the last works he completed in the months before his death.[3]
Sotheby’s published a provenance that traces the painting from 1890.[2] That record shows the German publisher Samuel Fischer acquired the work in 1909.[2] It passed down in his family after his death in 1934.[2] The record shows the painting was deposited with Paul Cassirer in Amsterdam in 1932 or 1933.[2] It went to Henriette and Marcel Kapferer in Paris in 1936.[2] Four other owners held it before this year’s consignment.[2]
What is at stake in the sale
The $180 million estimate is the highest for any lot in this season’s auctions.[1] It exceeds any price paid at auction for a Van Gogh.[1] The current record is $117 million with fees, set by “Orchard with Cypresses” at Christie’s New York in 2022.[3] Sotheby’s has backed the lot with a financial guarantee.[1]
The painting leads the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, a group of 12 paintings expected to sell for about $450 million on Nov. 18.[3] Carlos Pedro Blaquier and Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier of Buenos Aires began collecting Impressionist and modern art in the 1960s.[1] The couple’s five children consigned the works.[3]
Sotheby’s projected more than $1.1 billion in sales for the season, with about 40% tied to that collection.[3] New York’s four major auction houses expected at least $2.04 billion combined from the November sales.[3] More arts coverage is in The Boston Report’s Entertainment section, and market news is on the Business and Finance hub.
Sources
- The New York Times: Jewish Heirs Challenge Sale of $180 Million van Gogh Painting at Sotheby’s
- BBC News: Sotheby’s auction of $180m Van Gogh challenged over claims it was ‘sold under duress’
- The Art Newspaper: New York auction houses hope single-owner collections will fuel $2.4bn week of sales
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