Painting disappears from Rago Auction

The work by William Christenberry has been missing from Rago Arts and Auction Center since a few days after being sold for $2,280.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — A mixed-media painting from a private collection in New York was sold at auction in Lambertville for $2,280, but disappeared from the Rago Arts and Auction Center on Cherry Lane days later.
   Lambertville police categorized the painting’s disappearance as a theft and sent a "track message" to area police departments, asking them to look out for the painting.
   The auction house is reluctant to call the painting’s disappearance a theft, saying the painting has "gone missing."
   This week, the painting still had not been recovered, according to police.
   "Anecdotally," it could appear to be a theft, said Rago CEO Miriam Tucker. "My employees saw a man and woman with the painting. They didn’t see them leave with it. Memory being what it is, I just don’t know. They could be absolutely right."
   The 12-inch by 20-inch painting, "31 Scraps," is signed and dated by the artist, William Christenberry of Alabama. It sold at auction on Oct. 21.
   When the winning bidder returned in early November to pick up the painting, "That’s when we realized it wasn’t here," Ms. Tucker said Nov. 28, a day after filing a report with Lambertville police.
   Ms. Tucker said the auction house handles "tens of thousands of items" each year, and it is rare for an item to disappear, although it does happen even with security measures in place.
   "It doesn’t happen often," Ms. Tucker said. "Every once in a while we suspect something has been taken during preview."
   She explained the auction house is "very vigilant, and we have good security. We’re not sure what happened."
   The employees who saw the man and woman with the painting did not take down a description, believing they were buyers, according to police.