Man's Quest To Reclaim His Lost Art

[PEDRO MARTORI]

 

From: "PL" <P...@pandora.be>
Subject: Man's Quest To Reclaim His Lost Art
Date: Monday, June 10, 2002 4:32 AM

Man's Quest To Reclaim His Lost Art
By Alfonso A. Castillo
STAFF WRITER

June 9, 2002

When Manuel De La Torre fled his native Havana a year after Fidel Castro
came to power, he left behind most of his wealth, his family and 48 pieces
of art that were his pride and joy.

As years passed, De La Torre, 84, thought he would never return home to
recover the works. So when he was reunited with one of his favorite works
from his collection some 41 years later, he was thrilled, yet angered.

The painting was not in Cuba, but rather at a Manhattan auction house and up
for sale by an art collector. Now a year after discovering the painting's
whereabouts, De La Torre of Hicksville has mounted a campaign to reclaim it.

"He said to me, 'Even if I have to sell my house to get this painting back,
I will,' " his son, Manny De La Torre, 42, of Bethpage, said. "He is highly
motivated, even at his age."

Manny De La Torre said since his father learned of the painting's
whereabouts, he has been consumed with bringing it home and that the ordeal
has taken a toll on his father's physical and emotional well being.

To support his case, Manuel De La Torre searched through old records and
letters written by family members that detailed his escape from Cuba.

"It just opened a lot of wounds," said Manny De La Torre. His father was
hospitalized with heart problems last year - problems he believes were
caused by stress over the dispute.

"It goes to show you everything I've had to go through to recover my
property," De La Torre said.

He said he left Cuba for New York after he was labeled a
"counter-revolutionist" by the Castro government while he was working as an
architectural history professor. He left his paintings with his wife and
family, and expected he would return.

De La Torre said as his family members left Cuba one by one, the Cuban
government confiscated much of his artwork. But relatives were able to save
one work - "La Hamaca," by De La Torre's friend Mariano Rodriguez.

The painting eventually fell into the hands of a Spanish diplomat who
returned to Spain with it, De La Torre said. In 1997, a Spanish family
consigned the work to Sotheby's auction house in Manhattan. Art collector
Violy McCausland of Manhattan purchased the painting for about $130,000.

Four years later, McCausland consigned it again to Sotheby's, which
advertised a preview exhibition of the work in May 2001. Flipping through
the paper that day was Manuel De La Torre.

"His jaw dropped," Manny De La Torre said.

De La Torre attended the exhibition and told Sotheby's officials that the
painting had been stolen. Sotheby's pulled the painting from the auction,
acknowledging that Manuel De La Torre was the original owner, and has held
onto it as De La Torre and McCausland battle over ownership.

Sotheby's has its own stake in the painting since it loaned $40,000 to
McCausland as an advance on the sale. "Sotheby's cannot be the decision
maker in such a situation," spokeswoman Diana Phillips said.

McCausland's husband, Frederico Seve, said De La Torre has no proof that he
owns the painting. "After five years comes a clown like this and says, 'Oh
this is mine,'" Seve said. "Based on this fact, anybody from anywhere can
say, "This belongs to me.'"

While Phillips said Sotheby's only role is as an intermediary, De La Torre
said Sotheby's officials share the blame because they did not perform
sufficient research on the history of the painting nor did they try to
locate him.

"I've lived here, without interruption, in New York for 40 years," De La
Torre said. "I haven't been living in Nebraska where people couldn't find
me."

Phillips said Sotheby's did not turn up any evidence that the painting was
stolen and disputed allegations that the auction house has been dismissive
of the family.

Since last year, De La Torre has learned two other of his paintings have
turned up in the United States and is in negotiations to recover them.

Manny De La Torre said Sotheby's has offered several compromises, including
letting De La Torre keep the painting in his possession until he passes
away, at which time it would be returned to McCausland or whomever the owner
would be. But De La Torre will settle for nothing less than having the
painting returned to him, free of charge.

"My father would love to finish his life with that painting," Manny De La
Torre said.
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