ART

N.Y.C.’s Metropolitan Museum of Art this week disproved allegations by a Rutgers University professor that it had illicitly received five paintings stolen by the Nazis. The museum presented catalogue cards and other documents showing it had obtained all five works--including the famous 18th Century Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin work “Boy Blowing Bubbles”-- through proper channels. The New York Times, which first reported the story--quoted the museum’s director as saying professor Sol Chaneles’ claim of misappropriation was the result of an “amateur investigation” that should never have been taken seriously.