Stolen Van Gogh disappeared 6 years ago; now it’s at Michigan art gallery, lawsuit says
A Van Gogh painting of a woman immersed in a novel is at the center of a lawsuit an art collector filed against a Michigan art gallery.
The painting titled “Liseuse De Romans” is also known as “The Novel Reader” or “The Reading Lady,” according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Jan. 10. Vincent Van Gogh, “one of the greatest artists of all time,” created the blue, green and yellow oil painting in 1888, and it’s worth about $5 million, prosecutors said.
A Brazilian art collector, Gustavo Soter, bought the painting in 2017 and transferred possession — but not ownership — to a third party, the lawsuit says. This third party stole the painting, keeping its whereabouts from Soter, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court of Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division.
About six years after the painting disappeared, Soter found it on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, prosecutors said.
The Detroit Institute of Arts told McClatchy News on Jan. 11 the painting is part of the 80-piece exhibition “Van Gogh in America.” The painting is “currently on loan” to the gallery. “The loan was accepted in accordance with best museum practices.”
“No allegation of misconduct by the DIA has been alleged,” the gallery said, “and there has been no request or order for any modification to the exhibition. The DIA will continue to act in accordance with all applicable laws and museum best practices.”
In the lawsuit, Soter requested the painting be returned to him because he “retains good title to the painting and all true ownership interests in the painting.”
The “Van Gogh in America” exhibition ends on Jan. 22. When this happens, the painting “will no longer be accessible,” and Soter “will lose the chance to recover the Painting, for which (he) has been searching for years,” prosecutors said.
The court scheduled a hearing on Jan. 19 for this case, the art gallery said.
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 7:44 AM with the headline "Stolen Van Gogh disappeared 6 years ago; now it’s at Michigan art gallery, lawsuit says."
