It seems like we keep blogging about Yale, but this one is a little different in tone. In a move antithetical to Brandeis' modus operandi, the New Haven university filed a case in the Connecticut federal court concerning Vincent Van Gogh's seminal 1888 piece to maintain possession of the work. The AP reports that Yale is suing for rights of the work and to block Pierre Konowaloff, the painting's original owner's great-grandson. Also from the AP:
Pierre Konowaloff of France says he is the great-grandson of industrialist and aristocrat Ivan Morozov, who owned the painting in 1918.Russia nationalized Morozov's property during the Communist revolution. The painting now hangs in the Yale University Art Gallery.
The school says it wants to remove any cloud over its ownership.
The debate over ownership is always a touchy one, especially when it comes to a work as famous as this one. But it's good to see a university working to maintain its art collection in light of the Rose Museum.
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