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Shocking: Art Thief To Blame For Missing Painting
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 9, 2010
Modified Sep 9, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 9, 2010
Modified Sep 9, 2010
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Turns out the co-owner of the million-dollar 19th-century masterpiece, that was said to be lost by a drunken art courier, is really to blame for the missing painting. This isn't really a shocking development, as the co-owner is Thomas Doyle, a known art thief. He owned the painting with his (former?) lover, Kristyn Trudgeon, who earlier this month said, "He's a very honest, upstanding man. He's totally legit." She said this being fully aware that he had just got out of jail for stealing a $600,000 statue by Degas.
So, lesson learned: if you are dating a convicted art thief and one of your masterpieces goes missing, chances are you've been scammed. Anyway, the NY Post clarifies what really went down, saying Doyle actually didn't own any of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot's "Portrait of a Girl," but conned Trudgeon into thinking he did.
The feds say that "neither Trudgeon nor Doyle owned the painting—it belongs to an unidentitfied person in Japan. He told the owner that he had a buyer lined up who would pay $1.7 million for the painting," and somehow pocketed $220,000 during a possible deal. The FBI is investigating, and the painting is still "missing." Doyle faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.
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Thomas Doyle
Tom Doyle
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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