Perv Rolf snaps up own art
EX-CON TRAWLING eBAY
ROLF Harris has been secretly buying back his own paintings.
After he was convicted for sex crimes against women and children, many collectors rushed to get rid of his once sought-after pieces.
But now the 87-year-old has become “obsessed” with reclaiming his works, says a family friend.
He is said to be using anonymous accounts online to snap them up on eBay and other websites since they plummeted in price shortly after he was exposed as a pervert.
The friend said: “Rolf’s terrified his life’s work is out there and people want to destroy his paintings because of his convictions. He’s trying to get his own work back while they’re cheap.
“It’s terrible. The family have heard of people saying they used to be fans but have since destroyed paintings at a personal loss of thousands because of Rolf’s conviction.
“Rolf has bought up quite a lot of his old art, but he’s always on the lookout for more.
“It’s his latest obsession while he is stuck around the house.”
Friends have complained it is unfair that the works of the TV presenter and artist have plummeted in value because of his crimes.
Some even compared him to Pablo Picasso – acclaimed as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
Privately, he has told friends he still believes he will clear his name, and has talked of displaying his rescued canvases in a show titled “The Last Works of Rolf Harris: A Career Retrospective”.
Our source added: “So many of his originals have been sold on the cheap and defaced. That’s why he is so desperate to get hold of them again.”
Last month, Boldon Auction Galleries near Sunderland advertised two Harris signed limited edition prints for sale, with guide prices starting at just £20 and £50.
Both were taken off the gallery website following a public outcry.
Harris has lodged an appeal against his 2014 conviction for 12 indecent assaults.
Since being released from prison in May, he has has rarely left his mansion in Berkshire except to sign the sex offenders’ register at Windsor police station.