A federal judge in Connecticut has dismissed the claims of a man who says he was the rightful owner of a Van Gogh painting that's been on display at Yale University for about 50 years, according to AP. Judge Alvin Thompson on Thursday granted Yale's request to deny the claims to the painting by Pierre Konowaloff, who says "The Night Cafe" was stolen from his family during the Russian revolution. Yale sued in 2009 to assert its ownership rights and to block Konowaloff from claiming it. Konowaloff sought the return of the painting, or damages, and valued the painting at $120 million to $150 million. The judge agreed with Yale's argument citing the act of state doctrine in which U.S. courts don't examine the validity of foreign governments' expropriation orders. He called the piece one of the world's most renowned paintings. "We're pleased that the court has dismissed Konowaloff's claims," said Jonathan Freiman, Yale's attorney. "The Night Café is a timeless masterpiece that the public can see free of charge, and in this suit Yale has worked to make sure it stays that way." Konowaloff says his great-grandfather, industrialist and aristocrat Ivan Morozov, bought "The Night Cafe" in 1908. Russia nationalized Morozov's property during the Communist revolution, and the Soviet government later sold the painting. The 1888 artwork, which shows the inside of a nearly empty cafe with a few customers seated at tables along the walls, has been hanging in the Yale University Art Gallery. -- SPA 20:28 LOCAL TIME 17:28 GMT تغريد
