Greta Moll’s grandchildren sue National Gallery

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Greta Moll’s heirs sue National Gallery | London’s National Gallery is being taken to court by the grandchildren of Greta Moll over a Matisse painting they claim was stolen their family after the Second World War, reports the Daily Telegraph. Moll’s heirs say that the 1908 portrait of their grandmother, which currently hangs in the National Gallery, was lost in what their lawyer describes as an ‘illicit transfer’ when it was sent to Switzerland for safe keeping. The heirs, who have filed their claim in a US federal court in Manhattan, are asking for the painting to be returned or for $30million in compensation.

Design revealed for World Trade Center arts venue | After protracted delays, designs have finally been revealed for a performing arts venue on the site of New York’s World Trade Center. Designed by architect Joshua Prince-Ramus, the 99,000 sq ft structure of translucent marble will function as both a ‘birthplace’ for new shows and as a community centre, says director Maggie Boepple. According to the Guardian, the Ronald O Perelman Performing Arts Center, as the venue will be called, is still seeking $75million of the $250million estimated cost before it opens in 2020.

MCH Group takes stake in India Art Fair | MCH Group, the owner of Art Basel and Art Basel Cities, has taken a co-ownership stake in the India Art Fair ahead of the event’s 2017 edition. Though the Group describes the venture as the ‘first step in realising [its] ambition to create a portfolio of leading regional art fairs’, it stresses that IAF will be run as an entirely separate business to Art Basel. ‘We are delighted to have MCH Group as an experienced international partner joining us in India,’ said IAF’s founding director Neha Kirpal. ‘Their commitment to the region will help us develop the fair in the coming years.’

Lebanon wins inaugural London Design Biennale medal | Lebanon is the winner of the award for the ‘most exceptional design contribution’ at the inaugural edition of the London Design Biennale. In a ceremony at Somerset House last week, Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox presented architect Annabel Karim Kassar with the award for her Lebanese pavilion. According to a statement, the winning installation ‘extols the ingenuity and optimism of the Lebanese people’.

Recommended reading | Following the news that Nicholas Serota is to leave Tate to take up the chairmanship of the Arts Council, speculation is rife as to his successor. In the Guardian, Mark Brown suggests six possible candidates for the daunting job of following the outgoing Tate supremo. Meanwhile in the Financial Times, Peter Aspden explores the highlights of David Bowie’s £10 million art collection and finds much to enjoy. Elsewhere, the Daily Beast’s Jared Keller looks into the estimated $100 million worth of art in private collections that was destroyed in the 9/11 attack on New York’s World Trade Center.