Poland says Kandinsky art sold in Germany comes from theft

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s culture authorities say a painting by Wassily Kandinsky that was auctioned in Germany for almost 390,000 euros belongs to Poland, where it was stolen in 1984. They threaten legal steps. Kandinsky’s 1928 composition “Untitled” sold Thursday at the Grisebach auctioneers in Berlin. Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage along with the Polish Embassy in Berlin say they had notified the auction house that the artwork was stolen from an exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw, and had protested putting it up for sale. It bears the museum’s stamp on the reverse and the auction catalogue says it was at Warsaw’s museum around 1965-1983 and then in a private collection in the U.S.