Did you hear this crazy true-crime story about the Italian auto worker/art lover who paid 45,000 Lire (approximately $100 adjusted for today) for two paintings at the Italian Railways lost and found auction in 1975?
The paintings turned out to be Fruits on a Table with Small Dog by Paul Gauguin, and Woman with Two Arm Chairs by Pierre Bonnard.
They were stolen from a London art collector in 1970 by two men posing as burglar alarm technicians.
Authorities think the thieves abandoned the paintings on the train due to fear of customs.
The paintings hung on the auto worker's kitchen wall for close to 40 years. Their identity was only discovered when the man died and his son decided to sell them. Upon researching the paintings, he realized that the dog look very similar another Paul Gauguin dog painting.
Now, it's been discovered that the original owner died and left no heirs.
The paintings are worth between $14 million and $40 millions.
Who should get to keep them?
P.S. In other art heist news, I just watched four seasons of "White Collar" on Netflix. It's corny, con man, forgery, buddy-genre fun. I really enjoyed it.
P.P.S. I wish there was an undiscovered Bonnard Dachshund too.
