Missing $4 million Lichtenstein painting turns up in New York
By Chris Francescani, Reuters
A Roy Lichtenstein painting missing since 1970 has surfaced at a New York warehouse, and a judge this week ordered that it stay put until rightful ownership can be determined, according to court documents.
Lichtenstein in 1961 created "Electric Cord," which depicts a coiled cord in black and white on a 28 inch by 18 inch (71 cm by 46 cm) canvas. It was purchased for $750 in the 1960s by art collector Leo Castelli, but disappeared in 1970 after the Castelli gallery sent it out for cleaning.
In 2007, Barbara Castelli, who inherited the art gallery when her husband Leo died in 1999, listed "Electric Cord" with a registry of missing and stolen artwork.
Castelli learned last week that an art dealer named James Goodman had contacted the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation seeking assistance authenticating "Electric Cord," which was sitting at a storage facility on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The painting had been shipped from a gallery in Bogota, Colombia, court records show.
Attorneys for Castelli contend that the painting is currently worth $4 million. New York State Judge Peter Sherwood issued on Tuesday a temporary restraining order, barring the painting from being removed from the warehouse.
Lichtenstein was a pioneer in pop art who died at age 73 in 1997. In May, one of Lichtenstein's works, titled "Sleeping Girl," sold at the auction house Sotheby's for $44.8 million.
By Chris Francescani, Reuters
A Roy Lichtenstein painting missing since 1970 has surfaced at a New York warehouse, and a judge this week ordered that it stay put until rightful ownership can be determined, according to court documents.
Lichtenstein in 1961 created "Electric Cord," which depicts a coiled cord in black and white on a 28 inch by 18 inch (71 cm by 46 cm) canvas. It was purchased for $750 in the 1960s by art collector Leo Castelli, but disappeared in 1970 after the Castelli gallery sent it out for cleaning.
In 2007, Barbara Castelli, who inherited the art gallery when her husband Leo died in 1999, listed "Electric Cord" with a registry of missing and stolen artwork.
Castelli learned last week that an art dealer named James Goodman had contacted the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation seeking assistance authenticating "Electric Cord," which was sitting at a storage facility on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The painting had been shipped from a gallery in Bogota, Colombia, court records show.
Attorneys for Castelli contend that the painting is currently worth $4 million. New York State Judge Peter Sherwood issued on Tuesday a temporary restraining order, barring the painting from being removed from the warehouse.
Lichtenstein was a pioneer in pop art who died at age 73 in 1997. In May, one of Lichtenstein's works, titled "Sleeping Girl," sold at the auction house Sotheby's for $44.8 million.
There was a Seinfeld episode about George and art.
I think he got sucked into buying something.....
then he had a line, like....
"I need art explained to me, then I need the explanation explained to me ! "
That one is for Texansfan to embed.
I cannot for the life of me see why some ordinary object like a soupcan or a cord painted in oil is so damn breathtaking ! Cheese and Rice, maybe paint a comcast remote, bottle of Budweiser or a Honda Accord and sell it for 2 million ?
I can kind of see something in that French guy that painted shvt out of focus or the guy that painted the ceiing at the leaning tower of Pizza ( or whatever it was....).
I'm not so hot on the guy that painted the "Green acres" looking farmhouse scene in Iowa ( Grant Wood, I think). It reminds me of Fishhead, really !.
Dogs playing poker is better than electrical cord or soup can.
I think he got sucked into buying something.....
then he had a line, like....
"I need art explained to me, then I need the explanation explained to me ! "
That one is for Texansfan to embed.
I cannot for the life of me see why some ordinary object like a soupcan or a cord painted in oil is so damn breathtaking ! Cheese and Rice, maybe paint a comcast remote, bottle of Budweiser or a Honda Accord and sell it for 2 million ?
I can kind of see something in that French guy that painted shvt out of focus or the guy that painted the ceiing at the leaning tower of Pizza ( or whatever it was....).
I'm not so hot on the guy that painted the "Green acres" looking farmhouse scene in Iowa ( Grant Wood, I think). It reminds me of Fishhead, really !.
Dogs playing poker is better than electrical cord or soup can.
