A painting worth 58 thousand dollars found in a landfill was found in a mysterious state

A valuable painting that was mysteriously stolen from a famous gallery in Edmonton, Canada four years ago has been found in the United States, the Miami Herald reported, citing police.

The incident took place in December 2021. The painting, titled “Untitled, Watercolor and Ink on Paper,” by the famous Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopel, was stolen by unknown individuals who broke into the gallery. At the time, the incident caused a huge sensation. Despite the efforts of the investigative authorities, no suspects were identified and the investigation was fruitless.

After four years of mysterious silence, this famous work unexpectedly appeared in America, at a prestigious art auction in New York. According to the man who was trying to sell the work, he accidentally found the painting in a garbage dump. Since then, he has been keeping it in his closet and plans to sell it at auction and make a good profit.

However, the sale of the work attracted the attention of police officers, who immediately determined that it was stolen and wanted. Law enforcement officers who arrived at the auction immediately presented official documents, seized the work and returned it to the insurance company.

According to law enforcement officials, this painting was estimated by experts in 2022 at 50-58 thousand US dollars. Also, the true owners of the work received compensation from the insurance company and therefore refused to return the work to them. If they had accepted the work, it was possible that they would have suffered losses due to its lower value.

No definite decision has yet been made on the fate of the painting. It is possible that it will be resold at auction to compensate for the insurance company's losses.

Jean-Paul Riopelle's works are highly valued on the international art market, and each of the artist's works arouses great interest. That is why this event is in the spotlight of art lovers and collectors.

Many questions remain unanswered about this mysterious incident. In particular, it is likely that law enforcement agencies will conduct additional investigations to clarify issues such as how the work ended up in the landfill, who stole it, and why it has not been found for so long.

At the same time, the mystery surrounding this event and the high value of the work are further increasing interest in it. It is noted that this situation may lead to the strengthening of new measures to prevent and detect crimes related to works of art.