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In court papers, RFR, which is controlled by developer and art collector Aby Rosen, said the gallery's late rent payments have prompted the landlord to terminate the lease. RFR is seeking $795,698 in rent it says has accrued since the gallery filed for bankruptcy protection in November.

Joseph Sarachek, the chief restructuring officer the gallery hired in November, said the gallery will contest the motion, which Judge Cecelia Morris is scheduled to hear on January 31. Sarachek said the gallery intends to sell the lease, which expires in 2015, and sublet the building at a profit.

The conflict is the latest in a string of blows for Lawrence Salander, who filed for personal bankruptcy in the fall as well after being faced with dozens of lawsuits seeking unpaid debts or the return of artworks. He recently put his Manhattan home, a six-story town house on 82nd Street, up for sale for the asking price of $25 million.