The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Row over stolen master painting heads to court
CLAIM: Art dealer sues auction house after valuable piece is returned to owner
An art dealer who planned to make a large profit selling an old master is suing an auctioneer after it turned out the painting had been stolen from an aristocrat’s private collection.
The Lovejoy-esque tale of skullduggery in the rarified world of fine art has been revealed in civil court papers at Perth Sheriff Court.
Art dealer and author Ian Ingram spent £1,100 buying an 18th-Century oil painting during a sale at an auction room in Scone eight years ago.
Mr Ingram subsequently identified the painting as Oil Still Life – Fruit and Parrot by the Transylvanian Saxon artist Tobias Stranover, considered a minor old master.
The Perthshire-based art dealer’s plan to sell the painting for £25,000 was scuppered when police officers turned up at his door to inform him the painting had been stolen.
Mr Ingram is suing Iain Smith Auctioneers & Valuers for the £3,632 profit he believes he could have made from selling the painting on as an original Stranover.
Mr Ingram, 72, from Perth, said: “I buy regularly from auction and there, in front of the rostrum, was this painting – it did not seem like something you usually see.
“I arranged to bid for it on the phone and realising its worth, I kept it. I really loved the picture.”
The court was told that the painting – owned by and since returned to Lady Lingard – was entered into an auction at Perth Aerodrome in April 2010 and purchased by Mr Ingram.
With a buyer’s premium and VAT he paid a total of £1,358.
“The painting had been put up for sale by Brian Kerr. The auctioneer acted as his agent in the course of the sale,” Mr Ingram’s court action states.
“Mr Ingram was unaware of the identity of the seller of the painting until several years after the sale. Unknown to the auctioneer, the third party (Mr Kerr) did not own the painting.”
The criminal case against Mr Kerr, from Perth, was dropped and the painting was returned to Lady Lingard. Mr Ingram was not reimbursed.
He said he viewed the painting as “a pension plan” but said he felt he was being treated like a criminal when ordered to hand it back.
Mr Ingram’s lawyer states: “The painting was the work of Stranover. It was under-priced at auction. Its true value was £25,000.”
In defending the case, Iain Smith Auctioneers & Valuers said Mr Kerr had signed a form to say he was the rightful owner of the painting and later claimed it had been included in a sale in error.
They called on Mr Ingram to provide vouching for the origin of the painting as well as proving it was worth £25,000 at the material time. They called his claim excessive and said they would seek relief against Mr Kerr for any losses.
The case continues.