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A New York Supreme Court has ordered dealer David Nahmad to return a disputed Amedeo Modigliani painting to the heirs of a Holocaust victim within 30 days.
Paula Cooper Gallery has received the inaugural Art Basel Gallery Legacy Award.
The director of the Louvre has warned that the museum is “at the end of its rope.”
The Headlines
A MODIGLIANI MESS.
On Tuesday, the New York Supreme Court ruled that billionaire art dealer David Nahmad must return a valuable Amedeo Modigliani painting within 30 days to the grandson of the late Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner, according to The Art Newspaper. The work in question, Seated Man With a Cane (1918), sits at the center of an 11-year legal battle.
Although Philippe Maestracci, Stettiner’s grandson, secured a victory in April, no clear restitution timeline had been set until now. Nahmad’s legal team has immediately appealed, arguing that the ruling was issued “without the testimony of the only eyewitnesses who saw the Modigliani,” and insisting that the painting at issue has been misidentified. They claim the work in dispute is not Seated Man With a Cane and maintain that the heirs have confused multiple Modiglianis.
Maestracci’s representatives have rejected that argument and filed an opposition memorandum, warning that further appeals could prolong restitution by another five years. Nahmad’s side has already filed four unsuccessful appeals throughout the case. As Maestracci’s attorney Phillip C. Landrigran put it, additional legal action may simply continue delaying restitution to the Holocaust victim’s heirs.
RAISE A GLASS.
Paula Cooper Gallery has been awarded the first-ever Art Basel Gallery Legacy Award, ARTnews reports. In line with the award’s structure, the gallery selected Chapter NY as the recipient of a $50,000 grant to support its participation in next year’s fair.
The announcement took place at a crowded dinner in Basel’s historic Safran Zunft guild hall, where 33 nominated galleries were also honored as part of the second edition of the 2026 Art Basel Awards. Winners across additional categories will be revealed in Miami Beach in December.
The new Legacy Award was created to address what organizers described as a “gap” in recognition for galleries with long-term impact on artists and the wider art ecosystem. In a statement read on her behalf, Paula Cooper emphasized Art Basel’s role in expanding access to international contemporary art and fostering creative exchange across borders. The award was accepted by senior partner Steven P. Henry.
Chapter NY founder Nicole Russo became emotional while accepting the honor, noting that she has long looked to Paula Cooper Gallery as a model for the kind of gallery she hopes to build.
The Kicker
ONE HOT POTATO.
For what became his final body of work before his death last year at 73, photographer Martin Parr returned once again to English village life in Lacock, focusing on the small, overlooked details that define a place’s character.
As The Times critic Laura Freeman notes, Parr was less interested in the idea of a “perfect shot” than in what she calls “the perfect potato.” That sensibility led him to the Lacock Garden and Allotment Association Annual Flower Show in Wiltshire, where he photographed a prize-winning potato proudly presented by Anthony Edwards.
In Parr’s close-up image, the spud—large, pale gold, and rough-edged with soil still clinging to its surface—rests on a gold paper plate, its imperfections fully on display. A nearby pink slip boldly declares “FIRST PRIZE,” turning an ordinary vegetable into an unexpectedly dignified subject.
The image is part of Parr’s final series, currently on view at Lacock Abbey’s Fox Talbot Museum.
