French artist Baltasar Klossowski de Rola, called Balthus, has decided to sue the Giacometti Foundation headed by American born Mary Lisa Palmer after discovering that a still life painting he had left in the care of Alberto Giacometti in order to be offered to a café waiter had been kept by the heirs of the latter. Before leaving France for a long stay outside this country in 1959, Balthus had asked Giacometti to offer this painting to a waiter named Henri whom they had befriended while frequenting a café in Paris but Giacometti, who died in 1966, apparently forgot to remit this gift. 92-year-old Balthus, who had written «to Henri» on the verso of the painting, recently discovered that it had been included in the Giacometti succession and decided to ask for its return but the Foundation rejected his claim. It is not known if the waiter, who would have had this painting worth some $ 300,000, is still alive today.
Home
