Art collector says a Van Gogh painting that he owns went missing for nearly six years and resurfaced in a Detroit gallery

A man walks past Vincent Van Gogh's "Une Liseuse De Romans" painting.

AFP via Getty Images

• An art collector says a Van Gogh painting he owns went missing and resurfaced in a Detroit museum.
• The 1888 oil painting is hanging in the Detroit Institute of Art.
• The collector said in a lawsuit he hadn't seen the artwork since shortly after he bought it in 2017.

A Brazilian art collector has issued a lawsuit to try and obtain a Vincent Van Gogh painting that is hanging in the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA).

The collector, Gustavo Soter, bought the painting in May 2017 for $3.7 million and has been hunting for it since then, the lawsuit said.

The art collector said in the lawsuit that a "third party immediately took possession of the painting" after he purchased it.

He immediately transferred possession to a third party, who then absconded with it, the lawsuit said. It added that Soter "never transferred title to or any interest in the painting to this third party."

Soter's lawsuit estimated that the painting, "Une Liseuse De Romans," or "The Novel Reader," would sell for more than $5 million.

He wants the painting to be given to him when the DIA's "Van Gogh in America" exhibition closes on January 22, court documents said. 

In the lawsuit, Soter said if the museum transferred the artwork back to the third party he "will lose the chance to recover the painting."

A federal judge has ordered the DIA not to move the painting. A court hearing is set for 19 January. 

Representatives for Soter and the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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