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Painting of late Irish American artist goes missing after exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery
The painting which cost around ₹5 lakh, was one of the 49 paintings displayed at the gallery as part of a tribute to the artist.A case has been lodged by the Colaba police for criminal breach of trust 406 of the IPC against an unknown person after a complaint was received by Vanessa D’souza, wife of late Michael J Ryan, who lives in Colaba
MUMBAI: A 24×48 oil painting on board, titled Eerie Green, made by late Irish American painter Michael J Ryan, was stolen while the artist’s artworks were being carried back to Colaba after a week-long exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery in Kala Ghoda.
The painting which cost around ₹5 lakh, was one of the 49 paintings displayed at the gallery as part of a tribute to the artist.A case has been lodged by the Colaba police for criminal breach of trust 406 of the IPC against an unknown person after a complaint was received by Vanessa D’souza, wife of late Michael J Ryan, who lives in Colaba.
“Vanessa was married to Michael J Ryan who died in 2016 at the age of 65. He was a well-known painter and spent a lot of time in Philadelphia in the USA where he created several artworks. After his death, his wife and family that held several exhibitions of his paintings worldwide decided to hold the same in Mumbai as a retrospective of his work. This was for the first time his art was displayed in India,” said a police officer from the Colaba police station. Another officer added, “They had an exhibition from December 12 to December 18, 2023, at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Vanessa had given the work of carrying and framing the paintings to a private firm.”
After the exhibition, Vanessa counted the paintings, and she found that out of the 49 paintings exhibited, one painting – “Eerie Green” which was exhibited in several exhibitions in foreign countries was missing.
“She suspects the role of the transporter, and we have registered a case in the matter and are enquiring into it,” said the police officer.
“The painting was very close to my heart. It was exhibited at MoMA PS1 in New York years ago. I was having a retrospective of my husband’s artwork at Jehangir Art Gallery and it went missing after the exhibition. I suspect it to be the role of transporter,” said Vanessa.
