At Sotheby’s, Risk-Taking Left a $180 Million van Gogh in the Lurch

Claims on the painting by heirs of a Jewish owner were well known in the art world. The auction house will meet lawyers for the heirs on Monday.Visitors to Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in October looked at Vincent van Gogh’s “Châtaigniers en Fleurs (Blossoming Chestnut Trees),” ahead of its auction in New York.