David Drake Jar Breaks Record
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is the proud new owner of a David Drake poem jar, the highlight of Crocker Farms Summer auction. Drake, born in 1801, was a leading African American artist from South Carolina and has become … More…
Double-Theft: Nazi Art Loot In The 21st Century
Last Friday, August 20th, the Jewish Museum in New York opened its latest exhibit, called “Afterlives”. It shows more than 50 works by Picasso, Chagall, Cézanne, Courbet, and others, telling the stories of their restitution after being stolen from Jewish … More…
Big City Scammer Gets Nabbed
Earlier this month, New York antiquities dealer Mehrad Sadigh was arrest and charged with scheming to defraud, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, forgery and criminal simulation. Mehrad has pleaded not guilty to all charges. After being alerted … More…
To Shill, Or Not To Shill, That Is The Question!
As you know, I have been reporting for years now on the prices of trading cards and how crazy the auction prices have gotten; now, it seems that all may not be as it appeared. Last week the news broke … More…
Will The Jewels Ever Be Recovered?
Back in 2019, we reported on a jewelry theft in Dresden. A group of thieves started a fire that destroyed an electricity box near the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault – a museum founded in 1723) which, in turn, affected the … More…
Guess Everyone Wants A Van Gogh – I Know I Do!
On August 4th, Raffaele Imperiale (one of Italy’s most notorious crime bosses), was arrested in Dubai. The Italian government had been searching for him since 2016 for alleged money laundering and international drug trafficking as part of organized crime activity. … More…
Titian’s Women: Applying Modern Social Norms To The Renaissance
In 1896, Boston socialite and art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased Titian’s Rape of Europa from the Earl of Darnley. Bought for $100,000 (or about $3.2 million today), it was considered the museum’s greatest painting in an American collection. For … More…
Coming Close To Losing Your Marbles
It may be a bit of a stereotype that London is a gray, rainy mass straddling the Thames. However, London was hit with some particularly heavy rain in the last week of July, to the point that parts the British … More…
Getting High With Van Gogh
According to a few recent articles, Happy Munky (who claims to be “the heart of New York Cannabis”) has teamed up with the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit to create two weed nights (August 11 and 18 – I know, we … More…
Sotheby’s: Buy At Your Own Risk, We Do Not Sell At Our Own Risk
Well this is certainly an interesting one… as I am sure many of you know, buying at auction is inherently risky – condition issues may not be disclosed, there may be gaps in provenance which obscure proper ownership, and works … More…