30-Year Dispute Surrounding Duccio Painting Stolen and Consigned to Sotheby's Resolved

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - May 12, 2015 - PRLog -- A decades-old title dispute over a painting, attributed to Italian master Duccio de Buoninsegna (c.1255-1319), has been settled in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, following the filing of a Civil Forfeiture proceeding brought by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office and assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Adams. Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP, a New York-based boutique art and intellectual property law firm, was retained to handle the proceedings.

The settlement ends nearly 30-years of litigation over the painting between the United Kingdom, Monaco, Switzerland, France and the United States, which saw the involvement of Interpol and local law enforcement in each of those countries.

Following its purchase in 1977 by two art dealers in London, ownership of Duccio’s ‘Madonna and Child’ was split between several individuals, each holding a fractional share in the painting. However, in 1986, one of the parties stole the work from a bank vault in Geneva that was shared with the painting’s other owners.

The whereabouts of ‘Madonna and Child’ remained a mystery until January 2014, when it was consigned to Sotheby’s in New York for inclusion in their Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture sale. The ArtClaim Database identified the item as the stolen Duccio when it appeared for sale and, once the match had been confirmed, efforts were immediately made to notify law enforcement agencies, Sotheby’s, and all known claimants. ‘Madonna and Child’ was voluntarily withdrawn from sale, and Art Recovery International was appointed to represent the interests of two of the painting’s original owners.

Interpol’s involvement in the case eventually drew the attention of the U.S. District Attorney, who seized ‘Madonna and Child’ in June 2014. Art Recovery International retained Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP, a New York-based boutique art and intellectual property law firm, to handle the proceedings, which resulted in a negotiated settlement with the government.

The resolution process was slowed considerably because many of the original owners and the thief were deceased at the time the work was identified. It is thought that Sotheby’s consignor, since identified as the thief’s widow, was looking to take advantage of the passage of time in order to avoid the scrutiny of her late husband’s former partners.

“We are very pleased that our firm was successful in securing our clients' entire rightful share of this extraordinary painting in the settlement,” said David Galluzzo, Esq., a founding partner of Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP. “Finding resolution to a 30-year dispute is especially gratifying, and art collectors need to know that that can be protected in these rare situations. There are numerous situations that have grey lines that need to be addressed - from Nazi-Looted art to the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles - justice and truth must prevail,” he stated.

According to Leila Amineddoleh, Esq., a founding partner of Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP, this is a welcome outcome. “It is very rare that a work of art that has been missing for over 30-years is recovered,“ she said. “Usually when a stolen artwork goes underground for over a decade, the rightful owners don’t see its return due to lack of evidence, statutes of limitations issues, or the failure to pursue claims by the owners or their heirs.”

Christopher A. Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery Group, said:

“This was a particularly important case for us as it was the first match made by the ArtClaim Database. These cases always demonstrate that recording thefts, and other title disputes on a database like ours can eventually bring some measure of justice to the victims of art crime.

Complex, international disputes like these require a huge amount of patience on all sides and we are grateful to our legal partners for keeping the pressure on in New York while we built the case from London. We are also grateful for the intervention of the US Attorney’s office whose actions elevated the status of this case and carved a path for its eventual resolution.”

The last time ‘Madonna and Child’ was offered for sale it had an estimated value of $800,000 (£530,000). Following this agreement, it may now be sold with clear title.

About Duccio de Buoninsegna

Duccio was one of the most important painters of 14th-century Italy and has been called the founder of Sienese painting. Duccio's work is typically based on Byzantine sources, but was also influenced by sculpture from Pisa and by French Gothic metalwork. Duccio’s works are held in some of the world’s most prestigious collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery (London), and the Uffizi Gallery.

About Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP

Galluzzo & Amineddoleh LLP is a full-service law firm founded by David J. Galluzzo and Leila A. Amineddoleh, headquartered in New York City. The firm has an emphasis on art, cultural heritage and intellectual property law, focusing on the acquisition, retention, and disposition of fine art, as well as the constitutional and intellectual property rights granted to artists, historians, and specialists working in the art community.

http://www.artandiplaw.com

About Art Recovery Group

Art Recovery Group was founded in 2013 to give the art market a new and alternative provider of professional due diligence, dispute resolution and recovery services. Its services are delivered through two separate trading divisions ArtClaim and Art Recovery International. The ArtClaim Database is the central, online database of stolen, looted and otherwise claimed works of art.

http://www.artclaim.com