143:. Mr. Murray initially offered Miss Varney 25% of the sale proceeds as a "finder's fee". She rejected this offer and the parties initially agreed to continue the sale and resolve the dispute afterwards. On the day of the sale, however, Mr. Murray changed his mind. He offered 30% as a finder's fee, but without an agreement, he would no longer support the sale of the painting at auction. Miss Varney rejected the revised offer and Sotheby's followed their normal policy, withdrawing the painting because they could not guarantee a good title to anyone who bought the work. The painting was withdrawn with only three lots to go - unusually close to the sale time.
22:
150:, operated by a commercial company based in London which charges a fee to register stolen paintings. The family believe it disappeared from Myrtle Grove after a series of robberies in the 1980s, although Philip Mould notes that there was no crime reported. According to Mr. Murray, his family didn't know that the painting was stolen until it was put up for auction at Sotheby's. Mr. Murray conducted further research among his family's papers and claimed to have found a letter which described the circumstances under which the painting was produced.
65:, the colonial governor of the Bahamas at the time. They were attending a fancy dress party in Arabian costume. The party was also attended by Winslow Homer who was asked by Lady Blake to sketch the children. The central figure is Olive Blake. On either side of her are her younger brothers, Maurice and Arthur. Olive subsequently married John (Jack) Arbuthnot who wrote some of the
95:
In 1987, the painting, along with a work by Lady Blake and other material related to the Blake family, was found by Tony Varney while fishing in
Ireland. It was found just outside a rubbish dump, three miles from Myrtle Grove. He gave the painting to his daughter Selina Varney. In 2008, they took it
124:. They confirmed the attribution and valued it at over $ 100,000. It was included in their sale on 21 May 2009. It appeared in the catalogue without any reference to having been found; it was described simply as "private collection, 1987". A preview of the sale appeared in the
139:, prior to the auction. Sotheby's were told that the family had no record of owning a painting by Winslow Homer. Mr. Murray, however, holds that Sotheby's never discussed the painting with his family and that his mother was unaware of the sale until she saw a report in the
161:
In
November 2013, a new claimant emerged. Massachusetts native Clifford Schorer said the painting was used as security for a loan he made to Selina Varney (now Rendall) and that he was now entitled to it, the Blake family having failed to make a claim in a US court.
157:
reported that
Shirley Rountree (Simon Murray's mother and a descendant of Sir Henry Blake) was suing Sotheby's for "return" of the painting. Sotheby's responded that ownership of the painting was still disputed and should be settled in the courts.
72:
The painting was not framed and was subsequently included among a number of works by Lady Blake who was herself an amateur artist. The family believed the painting was by her. After colonial service in
Jamaica and Hong Kong, the Blakes retired to
135:(the great grandson of Sir Henry Blake) claimed ownership of the painting on behalf of the family. Tom Christopherson, European General Counsel for Sotheby's, said that the Murrays were contacted by Sotheby's, as part of routine
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The work was painted in the
Bahamas in 1885. It is in watercolour and pencil. It measures 14 inches by 20 inches and depicts the three children of
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columns. In her later years, Olive was described by one of her grandsons as being "a formidable looking woman of whom I was somewhat frightened".
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At the date of transmission of the programme (26 June 2011), ownership was still the subject of a legal dispute. In
October 2013, the
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A barrister represented Selina
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As of 2018, a court battle regarding ownership of the painting was still ongoing.
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The painting was featured in the second episode of the BBC TV programme,
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or more discretionary deeming of time to have run out —
47:. It was featured in the second episode of the BBC TV series
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limitation, by the automatic time-barring of claims —
128:. Miss Varney was flown to New York to observe the sale.
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Ross, Barbara and Dareh
Gregorian (25 November 2013).
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146:At a later date, the painting was placed on the
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169:) turning on the English and Irish laws of:
120:Mr. Mould took it to New York to be sold by
412:"€110k Winslow Homer painting is 'a steal'"
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628:A Visit from the Old Mistress
684:Moonlight, Wood Island Light
131:On the day before the sale,
410:Burns, John (31 May 2009).
298:. Episode 2. 26 June 2011.
102:where it was identified by
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784:Paintings by Winslow Homer
556:The Veteran in a New Field
40:Children Under a Palm Tree
27:Children Under a Palm Tree
636:Dressing for the Carnival
16:Painting by Winslow Homer
572:Prisoners from the Front
732:Fishing Boats, Key West
660:Lost on the Grand Banks
438:Evening Standard report
385:report on local website
214:March 26, 2012, at the
155:London Evening Standard
473:June 16, 2016, at the
370:Mould, Philip (2011).
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794:Paintings of children
644:Children Under a Palm
209:Catalogue description
110:Ownership controversy
34:Children Under a Palm
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779:Watercolor paintings
758:Winslow Homer Studio
564:In Front of Yorktown
455:New York Daily News
620:The Cotton Pickers
540:The Brierwood Pipe
167:Rountree v Rendall
96:to a recording of
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604:The Boat Builders
596:A Basket of Clams
372:The Art Detective
148:Art Loss Register
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799:Fake or Fortune?
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708:Maine Coast
700:Northeaster
692:Cannon Rock
668:Eight Bells
615:(1873–1876)
612:Breezing Up
588:Grace Hoops
397:Independent
85:, Ireland.
83:County Cork
67:Beachcomber
773:Categories
374:. Penguin.
345:Report in
532:Paintings
332:Telegraph
141:Telegraph
122:Sotheby's
471:Archived
305:4 August
212:Archived
173:finding
751:Museums
423:27 June
290:"Homer"
79:Youghal
743:(1909)
735:(1903)
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399:report
334:report
230:report
57:Origin
196:Notes
425:2011
307:2011
300:BBC
77:in
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247:^
81:,
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517:e
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177:;
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
