The Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University's acquisition of a Vincent Van Gogh painting that Russia once claimed as its own amounted to acceptance of stolen property and ``art laundering,'' a descendant of an earlier owner alleges.
The university sued in March in federal court to assert its ownership rights over ``The Night Cafe'' and to block Pierre Konowaloff of France from claiming the painting that he says was stolen by Russia during its 1917 revolution.
Konowaloff's attorneys say in recent court filings that Yale's acceptance of the painting in 1961 amounted to ``the knowing receipt of stolen goods.''
