Saanich police seized more than 1,000 tens of millions of dollars worth of artwork – including three original paintings by Emily Carr and several pieces by David Blackwood – following a search of an Oak Bay art dealer. It is the highest value of property seized by the department in the last 30 years, Saanich police told the Times Colonist. An art owner contacted police on April 11 to report that, in March, a merchant had been entrusted with four works of art for shipment and possible sale to a gallery in Oak Bay: three original Carr paintings and a Blackwood watercolor. Both are famous Canadian artists. There were also pieces by the famous Canadian painter Joseph Plaskett. Carr and Blackwood, the owner of the paintings, became suspicious when the gallery closed recently and attempts to contact the merchant went unanswered. The police investigation found many other victims who had sent works of art to the merchant, to cut off communication. Detectives from the Major Crime Unit carried out three search warrants at storage facilities in Saanich, Oak Bay and Langford. According to police, the initial search identified 600 works of art, the next more than 100 and the final search more than 300. Police said a total of just over 1,000 pieces were seized, valued at “tens of millions of dollars”. The art is stored in a secure location. The trader, whose identity could not be revealed until the charges are sworn in, was arrested on April 21 and released on several conditions, with a court date set for July, Saanich Const said. Markou Anastasiadis. Investigators are preparing a report to the Crown’s lawyer, which recommends criminal prosecution for multiple charges of fraud and fraud. The police claim that “the merchant took works of art from people in order to deliver or appreciate the art, later he stopped all contact, while he was selling the art without compensating the owners or the artists”, said Anastasiadis. As the investigation continues, detectives are in contact with the artists, their families or representatives, and the art owners in an effort to return the entire work to its rightful owners. Anita Blackwood, the wife of artist David Blackwood, told Glacier Media that she was “very unfortunate that many artists known to me and many unknown to me have actually been exploited and disrespected”. One of Canada’s leading printers, David Blackwood’s work has been celebrated for five decades. This experience was disappointing, said Anita Blackwood. “It really is a dramatic example of what can go wrong,” he said. The condition of the pieces was investigated at the Oak Bay Gallery, but was treated with “silence,” he said. “Essentially, the phone calls were not returned, the voice messages were not returned.” Art is impossible to recreate. Limited edition engravings were signed and numbered. “The effort put into producing these 70 works, you can not recover this time and effort,” said Anita Blackwood. Only 13 of Blackwood’s pieces were recovered. “The work we did back then was sent to his gallery in Newfoundland and Heffel galleries across the country,” said Anita Blackwood. “So there were about 13 tracks that didn’t come back and I can live with that.” Police do not disclose which specific works of art were confiscated, including Kar. The productive artist, who grew up in Victoria, has her work in the Royal BC Museum, the Greater Victoria Gallery and in galleries and private hands around the world. Carr’s 1931 Cordova Drift painting, which depicts a natural seaside scene near Victoria, sold for $ 3,361,260 at the Heffel auction in Vancouver on December 1, the second highest price paid for a BC artist’s work. The sale price fell just $ 32,000 below that for Carr’s 1928-30 painting The Crazy Stair, which went for $ 3,393,000 at the Heffel auction in Toronto in 2013. Police believe there are people who tried to retrieve their artwork but failed. They are asked to contact the Saanich police via email at [email protected] [email protected]
