Portrait of a Girl

The Case of the Missing Painting

Filed under: Art

The case of the missing masterpiece more closely resembles a spoof of a whodunit, such as Murder by Death, than real life.

According to a lawsuit filed on August 30 by Kristin Trudgeon, a painting she co-owned, "Portrait of a Girl" by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot worth an estimated $1.35 million, was entrusted to James Carl Haggerty and never returned after he showed it to a prospective buyer.

According to court documents, the prospective buyer, Offer Waterman, and Haggerty, met at the office belonging to the painting's co-owner, Tom Doyle, in order to inspect the painting. Doyle later met Haggerty at Rue 57, a restaurant on the upper east side of Manhattan where Doyle handed the painting over to Haggerty. Doyle instructed Haggerty to take the painting to the Mark Hotel where the prospective buyer further inspected the painting with a black light. While Haggerty and the prospective buyer met at the hotel bar, the painting was left at the hotel's front desk. Security cameras at the hotel recorded Haggerty leaving the bar, collecting the painting from the front desk, and exiting the Mark Hotel at 12:50 a.m.

Tags: art theft, jean baptiste camille corot, Portrait of a Girl