National Gallery to ‘robustly defend’ against claims it houses a stolen Matisse portrait

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The National Gallery has denied claims a Matisse portrait in its collection was stolen from its original owners.

Three grandchildren of the muse in Henri Matisse’s portrait of Greta Moll are launching legal action, claiming the painting was sold on without her knowledge.

The National Gallery said in a statement: “We understand that both Greta Moll and her husband were living in Germany during the Second World War.

“Some years after the war ended, and following the death of her husband in August 1947 (when the family say the painting was still in their possession), Greta Moll moved to Wales. This case therefore does not concern Nazi looted art.”

The National Gallery declared it bought the painting in 1979 in “good faith” and is therefore its rightful owner.

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, said: “We are proud to have Matisse’s superb Portrait of Greta Moll on show to the public in Trafalgar Square and we are confident that the National Gallery is the rightful owner of this work."

The Moll family claimants have previously stated Ms Moll never sold or transferred the title to the portrait to anyone, claiming it was sold by a third party without her knowledge.

Her heirs are calling for the return of the portrait or compensation equating to £24.6m.

The chairwoman of the National Gallery's board of trustees, Hannah Rothschild, added: “The board of trustees of the National Gallery have full confidence in our rightful ownership of Matisse's Portrait of Greta Moll and we will robustly defend this action on behalf of the British public.”

David Rowland, who is representing the family, said they stood by the claim and will pursue the case, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Greta Moll, who was known as Marg Moll, was a German sculptor and painter who studied under Matisse in Paris from 1907 to 1908 during which he painted the portrait of her.

After living in a number of cities, she lived in Berlin with her husband Oskar, also an artist, from 1934 through to the end of the war.

Most of the couple's art collection, including works by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, were destroyed in a 1943 bombing raid.

She died in Munich, Germany, in 1977.