Sotheby’s is currently facing a lawsuit from a past customer, who discovered that a work he had purchased through the auction house was reportedly once owned by Herman Goering, the Nazi leader recognized as the founder of the Gestapo. The piece, an 18th century painting by Louis-Michel van Loo, was sold in 2004, but was unable to be resold when questions arose about how Goering acquired the piece. The plaintiff, Steven Brooks, claims that Sotheby’s sold the work fraudulently, knowing about its questionable origins, as well as knowing that the work would be difficult to resell.
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