Van Gogh chestnut painting faces Nazi-era claim before auction

Descendants of the German-Jewish publisher Samuel Fischer are demanding that Sotheby's in New York withdraw Vincent van Gogh's Châtaigniers en fleurs (Bloeiende kastanjebomen) from auction on Wednesday. The heirs say the Fischer family sold the painting in 1936 under financial duress caused by the Nazi persecution of Jews.

The work, which Van Gogh painted in May 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, is part of the Blaquier-Arrieta collection. It is expected to fetch about $180m (more than €160m). That could set a record for a Van Gogh: the current auction record is $117.2m, paid for Verger avec cyprès at Christie's in 2022.

The heirs' lawyer, Gunnar Schnabel, says Sotheby's must prove that the 1936 sale was at market value and that the family would have sold the painting even without Nazi persecution. In a message to Sotheby's he wrote: "Otherwise the auction cannot take place."

Sotheby's says it knows of the family's objections and is talking with the heirs to find a solution acceptable to both sides. The auction house says its extensive provenance research has so far not established that the painting was sold under duress.

The painting was sold in the Netherlands, which Nazi Germany had not yet occupied in 1936.