And The Search Goes On

Jacob Meyers is stunned to see his father's Pissarro taken by the Nazi's in 1945 -- among the paintings up for sale. He questions auction house management and while he is kept busy reading a phony provenance, the Pissarro is withdrawn from sale. When Jacob asked why the painting had been removed from the auction, a tight-lipped manager was trotted out and asserted, "Due to confidentiality agreements with the seller we can offer no reason why the painting has been withdrawn." "Is there any possibility that it will be offered at a later time?" Jacob asked. "We have no way of knowing that," the manager said in a tone that dismissed any further questions.

Jacob knew the man was lying and was frustrated by his own actions that had allowed the painting to be snatched right out from under his nose. Suddenly he felt pangs of guilt, not for his present thoughts, but what he hadn't recognized in the past. For soon after the Nazi's took the painting he had simply dismissed Papa's Pissarro as just another relic that could easily be replaced. Of course, looking back at the situation he could only attribute that callous dismissal to his youth. But when the painting turned up, at the Auction House, he saw everything in a different light and suddenly realized just how much the painting had meant to him and his sister during the war years. And at that moment he made a solemn promise, in the memory of his parents, to use every resource at his disposal to find Papa's cherished painting. Jacob furrowed his brow as he thought about the daunting task ahead.

Russians Reveal Hoard of 46000 Art Treasures Stolen by Nazis Bloomberg - USA At the end of World War II victorious Soviet troops looted German, Austrian, Polish, and Hungarian museums, churches, libraries, and other cultural ...

Zurich Gang Grabs $163 Million Art Haul From Museum (Update3) Bloomberg - USA Art looted by the Nazis during World War Two is usually regarded as war crime rather than theft. To contact the reporters on this story: Marc Wolfensberger ...

Stolen Art on Display in a Search for Owners New York Times - United States The French exhibition is titled "Looking for Owners: Custody, Research and Restitution of Art Stolen in France During World War II. ...

Memo to authors from my writers' notebook: When writing a historical novel you can never do too much research. Also use multiple sources in order to give yourself a fighting chance at getting to the real the truth. Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter. Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews, my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.

Homepage: www.tombarnes39.com