The grandson of Romania's last legal king wants Christy to give him a painting of $9 million.
Romanian Paul Philip has been recognized as the legitimate heir to the country's former monarchy for decades, and using Prince Paul's title to use the royal family of Uncle Michael in a Manhattan federal court case against a famous auction Layout the despicable story of a suspected diving suspect. house.
This month was set up this month to sell St. Sebastian, an El Greco painting painted between 1610 and 1614, but reported that the Romanian government pulled the work after trying to wager its claims on the painting. According to the letter and court documents.
The Romanian government has argued in the lawsuit that it has not made a legitimate claim against the famous artwork because it was stolen and its source was manufactured, and that it is the sole property of the former ruler. .
His grandfather, Carol II, was “the last Romanian king accused of Parliament” before he was forced into exile in 1940 by Adolf Hitler and Prime Minister Aeon Antonescu of the country's Nazi Alliance.
King Carol had two sons, Carol and Michael. The old man was the result of marriage, and was eventually annihilated by the king's father, causing the monarch to remarry.
King Carol's oldest was shunned for illegality for years, but Michael became “the puppet king of the government that ruled the Romanian Soviets.”
As a reward for his loyalty, the Nazis allowed Michael to secretly secure a large amount of family valuables, including St. Sebastian and 41 other artwork.
The loot includes another El Greco painting called Canon Bosio – “packed in two box cars mounted on the Orient Express. Court documents.
According to Philip, Michael made his father believe that his valuables had been confiscated by the communist regime.
“Because he knew he had no right to his father's paintings, Michael died in 1953, and Princess Elena, Carol II's wife, became a fatal illness in 1976.” Philip insisted.
Michael then sold Canon Bosio and St. Sebastian to an art dealer in New York in 1976, claiming that King Carroll's “heirs” had agreed to sell the work, Prince Paul said in court documents. I stated.
“If Prince Paul and his father had been known to sell, they would have claimed ownership. It would have blocked the sale or forced Michael to share the proceeds,” the lawsuit.
The New York dealer then quickly sold St. Sebastian to an unknown buyer for an undisclosed amount.
The art collection includes nine El Greco masterpieces, King Carroll II was forced to live in exile in Portugal until his death in 1953.
His son Michael, who ultimately tried to lead the Romanian coup against the Nazis, gave up on the throne in 1947 and died in 2017 at the age of 96.
Prince Paul – charged with corruption in 2020 It is said that he planned to reclaim the lands of his family's ancestors. And he wants to order the court to be a fugitive and defeat his efforts to hand him over – Christy to give him St. Sebastianto compete for the unknown current owner, takes it out of New York, unless the judge intervenes.
“Prince Paul never tried to restore St. Sebastian for Carol II's property until last week's report that Christie had withdrawn the painting from the auction after the Romanian government allegedly claimed. I did,” said Philip's lawyer. Edward Griffiths.
Comment on Christie's lawsuit was declined.
