AUGUST 2, 1997
- again: a moderator's message
- Misfortune surrounds alleged van Gogh painting set for auction
- Italy's Uffizi Gallery to undergo major renovation
- Professional art thieves steal Smuts portrait from club
- Stolen pre-Civil War era sword returned to Westbrook shop
Again: a moderator's message:
Archive reports about incidents with cultural property and
mailinglist messages at: http://museum-security.org/mail.html
or:
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Several times per day we browse many news agencies for information.
It is impossible to cover all news. Do send your reports if we miss
anything.
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Misfortune surrounds alleged van Gogh painting set for auction
BY DEB KOLLARS AND STEVE WIEGAND
SCRIPPS-MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
SACRAMENTO -- It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.
The painting of sunflowers and oleanders, bursting with color, was to
be the find of the century, a treasure worth millions, a genuine
creation of Vincent van Gogh. Today, however, the grandiose quest may
turn into a last-minute fire sale. If a federal judge gives his
blessing, the picture will be auctioned to the highest bidder in a
Sacramento courtroom -- and so far there is only one firm bidder,
offering the relatively humble sum of $125,000. Even if the sale takes
place, as those involved expect, it won't end this twisted tale of an
elderly widow and her haunted picture. For one thing, there's the
trial next month in Stockton in which one investor in the painting is
accused of plotting to kill another investor. Then there are the
almost-certain lawsuits that will follow any sale. And of course
there's that pesky business about proving the work was really created
by the brilliant-but-tormented Dutch master. Which, as far as Mary
Rudolph is concerned, makes little difference. The 86-year-old owner
of the painting lives in a nursing home in Sacramento. Suffering from
Alzheimer's disease, Rudolph is blithely unaware of the legal
maelstrom surrounding the painting she inherited from her husband
after he spent 40 years trying unsuccessfully to prove its pedigree.
Still, she has not entirely escaped the paranoia this painting
produces: According to her conservator, Jim Moore, she keeps a framed
poster reproduction of it hidden behind her nightstand because she
fears someone will steal it. Outside Mary Rudolph's world, the next
act in the melodrama will unfold in the federal bankruptcy courtroom
of Judge David Russell. Russell is being asked by bankruptcy trustee
Larry Taylor, and Taylor's attorney, Helga White, to approve an
in-court, cash-only auction of the painting today. One offer of
$125,000 has already been received from a bidder whose identity is
being kept secret. The mysterious bidder is being represented by
Sacramento attorney Gerald B. Glazer, who did not return telephone
calls. Another potential bidder from Santa Barbara said he is trying
to put enough cash together to make an offer. Under terms of the
proposed auction, the first additional bid would have to be at least
$150,000, and other bids would have to be in increments of $10,000. "I
definitely want to bid on it," said artist-writer-inventor Tom Bright.
"I just hope I can get the resources to do it." The still life is part
of a bankruptcy case involving a Sacramento auctioneer who, while
trying to sell the painting for Rudolph, became involved with three
amateur art speculators from Stockton. The trio put up $40,000 for the
painting. But the auctioneer changed his mind about selling it to
them, then filed for bankruptcy. A two-year legal battle was on. But
in the art world, whether a van Gogh is the real McCoy comes down to
the opinion of an elite group of experts. And the experts said the
painting was not from the palette of the 19th century genius, who gave
the world dazzling starry nights and striking portraits before killing
himself at age 37. With the clock ticking down on the Aug. 8 truce
deadline, White decided to take what she could get. Glazer, the
attorney for the anonymous bidder, had approached bankruptcy trustee
Taylor with an offer to buy the painting without a guarantee it's a
van Gogh. The auction, White said, is standard procedure in bankruptcy
proceedings to ensure creditors -- and in this case Rudolph -- get all
the money they can. "I was aware we were running out of time," White
said. "And I'm aware something is better than nothing." Not everyone
involved agrees. Albert Pellandini, one of the trio of Stockton
residents who paid $40,000 for the painting two years ago, has vowed
to fight any sale. In a hostile declaration filed with the court,
Pellandini said he only agreed to the truce last August "because I
would receive a substantial return if the painting sold for a sum in
the millions of dollars. ... I never intended, and neither did the
other signatories to the agreement, that the painting would be sold
only days before the expiration of the agreement for a fraction of the
original amount ($5 million) stated in the agreement." In fact,
Pellandini argued in the declaration, "the actions of the trustee's
attorney, Helga White, have so enraged my partner Frank Raviscioni
that he is currently under indictment for hiring someone to kill me
and my family." Whether Raviscioni is guilty or not may be up to a
Stockton jury to decide. A Stockton real estate broker, he is charged
with trying to hire one of his tenants to kill Pellandini and his wife
and child last April. The tenant turned police informant and wore a
hidden microphone to record conversations with Raviscioni. Police say
the recordings show he wanted Pellandini killed so he and his sister
Inez, the third investor, could get Pellandini's share of profits from
the painting. The trial for Raviscioni, who pleaded not guilty and is
free on bail, is set to begin Aug. 18. His attorney, Tod Corren, said
he expects the trial to last about two weeks. Corren also contends the
informant made up most of his information. For her part, Inez
Raviscioni said she and her brother have no problem with efforts so
far to authenticate and sell the painting, and would be glad to be rid
of it. "We don't care what they get for it," she said, "we want it out
of our hair."
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Italy's Uffizi Gallery to undergo major renovation
09:52 a.m. Aug 01, 1997 Eastern
FLORENCE, Italy, Aug 1 (Reuter) - Italy's Uffizi Gallery, home to some
of the world's greatest Renaissance art, will become four times
larger, exhibit twice as many works, and house a new library, bookshop
and restaurant by the year 2000. Italy's Culture Ministry said on
Friday the 70 billion lire ($39 million) plan to refurbish the
internationally renowned gallery will be completed by the turn of the
century. ``This is an important project for Florence, Italy and for
the whole world,'' Deputy Prime Minister Walter Veltroni told
reporters as he officially unveiled the plan. Work on the
refurbishment has already started and when finished will take the
museum space of the magnificent 400-year-old palace to 30,000 square
metres from the current 7,000, the ministry said. The museum will
remain open while work continues. Some 90 exhibition halls will be
added to the 30 existing ones, displaying some 2,000 new works which
will be taken out of storage or transferred from other museums. The
new displays will include Titian and Rubens paintings stored for
decades in the gallery's backrooms and ancient Roman sculptures now
held in Florence's archaeological museum. In addition, government
officials plan a new library, which will hold thousands of art history
volumes, a bookshop and restaurant to be opened as early as December
16, 1998. The Uffizi renovation will also be affect the area around
the gallery. The Loggia della Signoria, the 14th century arched tower
facing the gallery, will be given a new terrace garden. Florence
officials said they aimed to launch an international competition for
designs for a modern structure to be built at the gallery exit. The
government has already allocated some 30 billion lire ($16 million),
and expects the rest of the money to come from the proceeds of a
regular midweek national lottery. The Uffizi Gallery was damaged by a
bomb attack in 1993 which investigators blamed on the Mafia. More than
1.1 million people toured its rooms in 1996.
Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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Professional art thieves steal Smuts portrait from club
CAROL CAMPBELL
AN oil painting of Field Marshal Jan Smuts, worth Rand100 000, has
been cut from its frame and stolen from the Cape Town Club in what
club members believe is a theft by a professional who knew the
painting was valuable. Irreplaceable silverware including antique ink
wells from the library have also disappeared in the past few weeks.
Club secretary Mr Albert van Wyk said the painting was cut from its
frame in the Smuts Room (so named because of the artwork) with a
"very sharp" knife. Club members first noticed it was missing on
Tuesday morning. "The thief is discerning because he has only been
taking the silverware of great value." Van Wyk appealed to art
dealers around the country to watch for the painting should the thief
try to sell it. "That is, if it's still in the country," he said. The
stolen painting, by Frank Wiles, shows Smuts seated in a lounge suit
against a pinkish-red background. It measures 76cm by 34cm and was
donated to the club by the old Civil Service Club when it merged with
the City Club in 1976. The curator of paintings and sculptor at the
South African National Gallery, Mr Hayden Proud, said since the end
of the "isolation years" South Africa had been targeted by
professional art thieves. "Legislation is being drafted to tighten
the import and export of art works and national treasures," he said.
Not only oil paintings were at risk; traditional African art was also
a target of professional thieves. "During the recent trouble in Zaire
a whole museum was cleaned out and the works are now circulating on
the international art circuit," he said. Stolen art was also used for
money laundering, he said: "The painting is bought with dirty money
and then resold for clean money." Proud said an international magazine
called Trace advertised stolen works to alert collectors and dealers.
"Several valuable pieces have been traced this way." All Material (c)
copyright Independent Newspapers 1997.
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Stolen pre-Civil War era sword returned to Westbrook shop
Associated Press, 08/01/97 13:52
WESTBROOK, Maine (AP) - Detective work by an antiques collector from
Fairfax, Va., has led to the recovery of a stolen sword dating back to
before the Civil War. The ornate 1854 sword vanished from the Country
Trader Antique Shop in Westbrook in June of last year, leaving the
owner and police with little hope of ever seeing it again. It came as
a shock to owner Wayne Bonney and detectives Thursday when Robert
French showed up with the sword. Knowing it had been stolen, French
had bought the sword the night before at an auction in New Hampshire
and promptly canceled the $1,500 check he used to pay for it. French,
formerly of South Portland, collects historic Maine military items. He
became suspicious when a New Hampshire auctioneer called to ask him if
he would be interested in the sword. He checked with his Maine
contacts, learned the sword had been stolen and then traveled to New
Hampshire to bid on the antique. ``He didn't want to let the thing go
away and disappear,'' said Westbrook Police Chief Steven Roberts.
Police would not release the name of the auction company, saying
detectives will try to pursue the case in hopes of solving the crime.
It won't be easy. Roberts said there is no telling how many times the
sword changed hands in private sales over the course of a year. ``We
had given up on it. There was no chance that sword was coming back,''
Bonney said. The sword is unique. Its ornate brass sheath is worked
with a fine filigree, and an eagle's head is carved into the bone of
the handle. Inscribed on the sheath are the words: ``Presented to the
Portland Light Infantry, Oct. 13, 1854, by Col. John Wilson, a member
of the company 23 years and commander from 1842 to 1849.'' Nancy
Scott, one of the dealers at the shop, was working two of the three
days on which it might have disappeared. ``I felt terrible. Now and
then it happens. Usually it's with something small. That's by far the
largest thing that's ever disappeared,'' she said. ``I keep eagle eyes
out. I could not figure out how it could have happened. Somebody must
have put it down their pant leg.''
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