An Artist's Hard Lesson Learned

Then, suddenly, the couple separated and the wife was forced to sell the frame shop. She called me in to discuss my options. Either I could take the paintings out of the shop that day or I could leave them and sign a new agreement with the new owner. She said that if I decided to take them, that I could have the frames that were already on them. The new owner was a professional with a large well-known company and he bought the shop for his daughter to operate as her own business. Since my relationship with this shop had been positive, I decided to keep my work there. The owner told me she would still be in the shop for a couple of weeks, training the new owner and his daughter. She would be calling me during that time to introduce me to the new owner and sign a new consignment agreement.

Being preoccupied with other things at that time, I sort of put it out of my mind and waited for her call. A few weeks later, I did receive a call. The new owner and the previous owner had a huge argument over the sale of the shop and he had kicked her out. She advised me to try and get my paintings out of the shop because he was proving to be a very untrustworthy person.

I called the new owner and introduced myself. I could tell that he was not an easy person to deal with. He did acknowledge that I had a consignment agreement with the previous owner, but he was very angry when I told him that she had given me the frames. After a couple of telephone conversations with him, out of anger, he decided to claim that he had bought all my paintings, as part of the shop inventory. I knew the previous owner would never have sold my work.

I contacted an attorney for advice and he instructed me to write the shop owner a letter and give him ten days to return my paintings. I did and he never responded. So, I proceeded with a small claims lawsuit against him.

The previous owner provided me with all the documentation, proving beyond a doubt that my work was not part of this sale. She also put into writing, the fact that she had given me the frames that were already on my work as a thank you for our past successful relationship.

In the meantime, the two parties were involved in some kind of legal dispute about the sale of this shop, which had nothing to do with me. When I appeared in court, the judge would not even look at my documents, because he did not have the details of this other pending case that this man had made me a part of.

So, I waited it out for a year and a half, while these two parties battled it out in court. I visited the courthouse a few times and made copies of documents to prove that my paintings should not have been involved in this dispute. Finally, I discovered through one of the attorneys involved that the matter had been settled. I was about to refile my case, when a friend asked me if I knew that the frame shop had closed! She said it was open and operating one day and the next, it was completely empty! No sign on the door - nothing!

I could not believe it. This man had stolen my paintings that I spent so much time and effort on. There were three paintings on canvas and several miniature paintings on paper. If, by chance, anyone has purchased these, I do hope that you are enjoying them. However, I think it is only fair that you know that they were stolen from me, the artist. They are entitled "Cactus Fiesta", "Agave" and "Desert Delight". Each of these paintings is framed in a Larson-Juhl off-white rustic wood frame. Each painting is signed with my first name, "gayle".

I have accepted that I will never get my paintings back. I take a lot of responsibility in losing them. First of all, I should have taken them out of the shop, framed and all, when I had the chance! Secondly, I should have been in that shop on the first day that the new owner took over, introducing myself and signing the proper documents.

So, I hope others will learn from my hard lesson. I hope my story will help someone else realize that we, as artists, need to treat our profession just like any other business. Make sure everything is in writing and that every detail is documented.  Be assertive, making sure you take care of your own business and not relying on the words or opinions of others.