New Jersey art dealer Matthew Schwartz offered a $8,500 painting for sale on eBay in October 2015 and got an immediate response---from the federal government.

The portrait "1934 Farmer" by John Slavin was commissioned under the Depression-era federal work program for artists sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), says the U.S. General Services Administration.

The GSA argues for its federal ownership of WPA art and has pursued more than 460 works valued at about $4.3 million since 2001.

Schwartz counters that many WPA works are on the market, and that he carefully restored the Slavin portrait. The painting came with a history in the holdings of Chrysler Museum of Art, until 1990, although no further provenance details have been cited. 

The suit filed on May 23 notes that WPA works were “loaned or allocated” to government entities, nonprofits and “tax-supported organizations.” The complaint reads: “It was clearly stated that the federal government would hold full legal title to artwork on long-term loan."