Stolen artwork in US collection

New 8:15AM Wednesday August 13, 2008

Is this Picasso yours? When New York art collector William Kingsland died in 2006, he left behind hundreds of pieces.

But some, including works by Pablo Picasso, turned out to have been stolen.

The FBI, searching for the rightful owners of possibly stolen items, posted photographs yesterday of some Kingsland items on its website.

Kingsland left an impressive collection of more than 300 pieces.

Because he left no will and no heirs stepped forward, public administrators hired auction houses Christie’s and Stair Galleries to sell the art.

But an oil-on-canvas by early American painter John Singleton auctioned by Stair for US$85,000 ($123,385) was discovered to have been a stolen item, and Christie’s had to cancel a sale from the Kingsland collection over issues of history of ownership.