Paintings Recovered in Canada

Six Stolen Paintings Recovered From Canadian Auction House

ONTARIO, 2 DECEMBER 2019: Six stolen paintings have been recovered from an Ontario auction house by Art Recovery International. The paintings formed part of a $300,000 theft of artworks by Canadian artists including Alexander David, Casey McGlynn, Medrie McPhee and Oscar Lakeman and had been missing since the robbery in 2017.

In early 2017, a thief was caught on CCTV prying open and emptying the entire contents of a storage unit at Smartstop Storage in Brampton, Ontario. The thief was arrested but until recently, the artworks remained missing. In October 2019, six of the stolen paintings were located at a local auction house during their due diligence and vetting process.

Christopher A. Marinello, a lawyer and art recovery specialist was appointed by the victim’s insurance company to recover the works.  The thief apparently moved the artworks to another storage facility in Ontario but made one critical mistake: failing to pay the rent which led to the confiscation of the unit containing six of the stolen paintings by the landlord who later consigned the paintings for sale.

Progress in resolving the case was slowed by the landlord’s obstruction, refusing to release the artworks under an age-old “finders keepers” defence. Art Recovery International drew on the landlord's use of an intermediary/dealer to handle the consignment and an unconditional release was obtained when the dealer feared provoking a ‘handling stolen property’ charge.

Christopher A. Marinello said:

“This case could not have been solved without the support and investigative prowess of the Peel Regional Police in Ontario, nor without the Canadian auction house following proper procedures by holding onto the stolen artwork until the matter was resolved. Sadly, many auction houses stick their heads in the sand when it comes to stolen art coming through their salerooms, they quickly return items with title problems to their consignors--even active criminal cases--just because they don’t want to be involved.”

On Friday, the artwork was returned to the theft victim after reimbursing her Insurer.

To avoid similar problems, Art Recovery International encourages art collectors to do the following:

· Always report thefts to the local police and make sure you request a copy of the police report. These reports can be critical to making a recovery years later when the artwork is located. 

· Regularly update your insurance schedules.  Most artwork increases in value over time and you don’t want to be caught underinsured in the event of a theft.

Simon Hornby, President, Crozier Fine Arts, a specialist art logistics provider recommends always using an approved facility that’s been inspected and approved by art insurers. This ensures security, environmental controls, fire protection and handling is appropriate for storing art collections.

Art Recovery International has recovered over $510 million dollars’ worth of stolen and looted works of art including the resolution of complex title disputes.  Consider contacting artrcovery.com if you are a theft victim, insurance company, auction house, or art dealer with an art related problem.