British art historian Timothy Wilcox was flown into T&T in April to authenticate the Cazabon paintings stolen from the National Museum in August 2012.Communications manager at the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration, Alison Ali, told the T&T Guardian Wilcox had authenticated three paintings that were recovered by the museum. Earlier reports said two Cazabons had been stolen and returned.Wilcox examined the watercolours at the National Museum from April 1-4 to identify their provenance. His report, dated April 4, concluded the works were original, genuine Cazabons and confirmed they were the ones the museum had previously owned before they were stolen.
Ali told the T&T Guardian her ministry had still not received a formal police report on the thefts since reporting the matter to the police on January 21.She said the ministry had regularly asked the police for updates in the intervening six months but had been told only that "administrative changes in the police division have led to delays in the investigation and preparation and submission of the report."Speaking to the T&T Guardian on Tuesday, Mark Pereira,owner of the 101 gallery, questioned the response of the museum in the immediate aftermath of the paintings being recovered.An as yet unnamed art dealer took the stolen paintings to the museum to sell on behalf of a client weeks after the theft.He was questioned by police but was allowed to leave without being arrested after providing receipts and a description of the man from which he bought them. The dealer's identity has yet to be disclosed by either the museum or the police.
Pereira said the museum ought to have spoken publicly about the theft as soon as it happened so that dealers and collectors could have been put on alert in case the stolen paintings were offered to them.Comparing the situation to a theft from a privately owned collection this year, Pereira said: "Within two days of the discovery I had phoned every art dealer and framer in Port-of-Spain to get the word out there, so that if somebody tried to sell the work, it would immediately raise the alarm."I don't understand why they stayed silent for so long. It's a perfectly normal procedure and simple common sense to make the thefts known."Commenting on the questioning of the art dealer, he said: "If the dealer says he has (received) them from a client, then he has to know the name and identity and the contact details of the vendor in order to pay the vendor."Therefore giving a description (of the vendor) to the police makes no sense, as the dealer has the name and phone number to pay them once the works are sold. Something's not adding up."The Ministry of Diversity said it would be "inappropriate to comment while the matter is still under police investigation" but it appears the usual procedure of dealing with an art dealer was not followed by the museum in the situation.
What the law says:
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has specific regulations around the buying and selling of art. Dealers are required by law to ensure to the best of their ability that the artworks they are selling are not being bought for money-laundering purposes.Pereira explained: "There are forms the buyer and seller must fill in and if you don't know the supplier you are supposed to put them through a rigorous interview process to find out the provenance of the works of art and their value."Staff at the museum have not said whether they knew the art dealer before the attempted sale.
The stolen paintings:
�2A View from Fort George.
�2House In Trinidad 1.
�2View from Laventille Hills.
All the works are 19th-century watercolours of historical significance worth around $250,000 each.
Who is the expert?
Timothy Wilcox, who was called in on the recommendation of the museum curators, is a former curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and author of an essay on Cazabon in a book on Margaret Mann, a student of Cazabon's.His credentials include an MPhil in the history of art from the University of London. He later worked at the Cambridge University Library and was assistant keeper of foreign art at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool.Local art dealers Mark Pereira and Geoffrey MacLean are also knowledgeable about Cazabon (1813-88). MacLean wrote a biographical study of Cazabon and also unearthed a collection of watercolours by Cazabon that had been commissioned by Governor Lord Harris during his tenure in Trinidad (1846-53) and stored away at his home in England for over a century.