Judge Allows Sale of a Picasso After Suit Alleged Nazi Link

One of Picasso's most sought-after paintings, worth tens of millions of dollars, can be auctioned, a judge ruled yesterday in dismissing a last-minute lawsuit that claimed it rightfully belonged to the heir of a Berlin banker who was forced by the Nazis to sell it.

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said the federal courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims of Julius H. Schoeps, an heir to Berlin banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and he criticized lawyers for filing the lawsuit under seal on Friday at such a late date.

The painting, "Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto," purchased in 1995 by the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, a London-based charity, had a presale estimate of up to $60 million for the Christie's auction to be held today.

The lawsuit said Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, whose family descended from Jews, was subjected to Nazi intimidation that forced him to flee his mansion and begin selling prized paintings into a depressed art market in the 1930s.

The judge rejected arguments from both sides that publicity could damage the painting's value, calling it absurd to hide from buyers that the ownership was in question. Potential buyers, he said, "should not be defrauded with the connivance of the court"

He said Mr. Schoeps could refile his lawsuit in state court. Mr. Schoeps' lawyers said they would do that today, just hours before "Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto" was scheduled to go on the auction block.

Christie's said it was pleased with the decision.

"The last minute action taken by these individuals against a charity is a disservice to the restitution community and the restitution process that has been created to serve those with authentic interests in stolen and plundered art," the auction house said in a statement.

"This kind of inappropriate action does damage to the public, museums and, above all, the true claimant community," said Christie's. "We are now in conversation with the owner as to what future actions to take."

On Monday, Judge Rakoff had temporarily blocked the sale; he lifted the ban after dismissing the lawsuit yesterday, and questioned whether the work of art was lost in a battle for dollars.

Later, he questioned the merits of the lawsuit, saying the plaintiff would have to show why he was entitled to challenge ownership of the painting decades after the disputed sale and just days before the scheduled auction.

The 1903 Picasso was put up for sale as part of Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale by the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, the famous composer's London-based charity.

Michael Salzman, a lawyer for Christie's, said the lawsuit resulted from "shameless opportunism."

He said it was noteworthy that none of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's four sisters ever claimed the painting was sold improperly.

In the lawsuit, Mr. Schoeps sought to be declared the lawful owner of the painting of de Soto, who shared a studio with Pablo Picasso.

The lawsuit said Mendelssohn-Bartholdy placed five Picassos, including the de Soto painting, on consignment with Berlin art dealer Justin K. Thannhauser in October 1934. According to the lawsuit, Thannhauser sold the painting in 1936 to M. Knoedler & Co. in New York. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy died in 1935.