Art Theft (Hempel & Wheatley) 2 2

[Natty Bumpo]

This is bad… https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?articleID=273735

 

[alxjhnsn]

Yep.

[vodou]

The Maryland State Police embarked on a rigorous investigation, issued subpoenas, and traced the theft back to its source. The perpetrator passed away, and the stolen cache was sold from his estate.

 

Hmmm, so we're using the word stolen but not naming names?

[grapeape]

Not sure I like this idea I'm proposing, but... what if dealers and auction houses had to post coming art work on a legal listing 6 months before selling.

1. If Art ownership is not contested, the sale/auctions can go forward.

2. Stops flipping

i see some problems with my proposal, but going through theft horror stories year after year is getting old. I feel sorry for the fellas  losing a life time of blood sweat and ink.

🍇 🦍 

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 4/1/2024 at 8:36 PM, grapeape said:

Not sure I like this idea I'm proposing, but... what if dealers and auction houses had to post coming art work on a legal listing 6 months before selling.

From this article, it sounds as if tons of artwork had been stolen over a long period of time, and not a single purchaser ever brought a page to a convention where they appeared to be signed or ever sent an email about an inquiry regarding a page years before the HA auction was discovered. The 6 month timeline wouldn't work here, because it was years before these two guys discovered things were missing.

There has always been a criminal element to the hobby (as with all hobbies), but man - the frequency of things happening is really a downer.

[PhilipB2k17]

On 4/3/2024 at 11:48 AM, Dr. Balls said:

From this article, it sounds as if tons of artwork had been stolen over a long period of time, and not a single purchaser ever brought a page to a convention where they appeared to be signed or ever sent an email about an inquiry regarding a page years before the HA auction was discovered. The 6 month timeline wouldn't work here, because it was years before these two guys discovered things were missing.

There has always been a criminal element to the hobby (as with all hobbies), but man - the frequency of things happening is really a downer.

These thefts suggest some kind of organized ring. Someone pays a storage facility employee for intel on storage lockers that might have valuable stuff in them, and then steals from those lockers. Either that, or a longtime employee or associate of the artists who had access to their storage facility pilfered the pages. Either way, it was an inside job. 

[PhilipB2k17]

Good news that actually counteracts some of the cynicism surrounding this incident:

"The thief passed away in 2015 still owning the art trove, which had been hidden for a number of years, Wheatley explained.  His heirs sold the art, and once the theft became known, the people who purchased the estate came forward and have assisted in the recovery process.  Some collectors have already returned art, and others are being contacted regarding their purchases.  None of the purchasers knew the art was stolen.

"The good part is how many collectors have come forward to return art or to help trace the art," Wheatley said.  "We have the best fans."

ICv2: Wheatley, Hempel Seek Return of Stolen Art Trove

[Silver Surfer]

I’m guessing that the estate would have had to repay all sales proceeds? I don’t get why people would want to steal stuff that would be next to impossible to sell without it tracing back to them.