PICASSO, RENOIR, MATISSE PAINTINGS IMPOUNDED AT MOSCOW AIRPORT
Artworks by Picasso, Renoir, and Matisse have been held by customs officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport without explanation for more than three weeks, said Luba Mosionzhnik, director of the Shkola gallery, which is attempting to import the artworks. Estimated to be worth twenty million dollars, the works belong to a collector who lives in Switzerland and New York, reports Bloomberg. “No one knows anything, and no one has told us why these works have been detained,” said Mosionzhnik. Under Russian law, customs officials have three days to explain why items have been detained, said Andrei Eremin, a legal adviser to Shkola. The paintings have been held since October 18. Nobody at Sheremetyevo’s customs department could be reached immediately when Bloomberg News called seeking comment. The head of the department, Alexander Kochnov, was cited by the news service Itar-Tass as saying the duration of the impoundment is routine because of the “lengthy process of paperwork” needed to bring art into the country temporarily. The works should be released in “several days,” the news service cited him as saying.
UPDATE, 11/13, 9:30 AM EST: In a follow-up story, Bloomberg reports that the paintings will be released today. “There was no detention whatsoever of any paintings,” said Alexander Kochnov, director of customs at the airport, in a telephone interview.
“We didn’t do anything wrong, we followed all the rules for bringing art into Russia, and we plan to clear the name of my gallery,” said Mosionzhnik. “Today we went to the prosecutors’ office and opened a criminal case against customs for illegally holding private property, and we will sue for damages.”
Eremin, the lawyer working on Shkola’s behalf, said he believes the conflict over the paintings was instigated by another art-transportation company in Moscow that wants to force Shkola to become its client. He did not elaborate.
