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. Â 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. Â 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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