Portrait of Greta Moll by Henri Matisse, 1908, which is at the heart of a row over ownership PAThe National Gallery is defending its position over the 100-year-old Matisse masterpiece at the centre of a £24.6 million legal row, with claims that it was stolen. The portrait is of Greta Moll, Matisse’s muse, and her descendants are now claiming the painting was taken from the family after the Second World War during Nazi looting. “Litigation is a continuation of business by other means.” This adaptation of the quote from Carl von Clausewitz in his seminal book, On War, is probably truer than ever. Indeed, nowadays litigation is often the chosen route to resolve corporate battles, to protect intellectual…

Source: The Times November 03, 2016 00:04 UTC