Million-Dollar Flowers Were Filched
Back in May of this year, Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers sold a lovely flower picture by French realist Henri Fantin-Latour for an impressive price of more than $1 million. Now, however, authorities have announced that the work, titled Bouquet d’Hiver, was stolen property.
Before coming to Shannon’s, the painting was reportedly sold to an antiques dealer for the measly sum of one hundred dollars. While Shannon claims to have followed all standard business procedures, like checking with the Art Loss Register, the painting was not on their list of stolen or missing works. Why not? Because Bouquet d’Hiver wasn’t reported stolen until some four months after Shannon’s May sale, when the painting’s rightful owner returned home from Europe and discovered it missing. According to New London, CT., newspaper The Day, the picture was swiped from a shed by a handyman while the homeowner was abroad. Charles R. McDougal, 44, has been charged with the crime. Shannon’s has assisted authorities in locating both the painting and its consignor, and has stated that the European client who purchased the work will be fully refunded.
