Collector Sues Mystery Company

In 1978 thieves stole seven paintings from American Michael Bakwin. The art surfaced last spring in London, in the possession of the Erie International Trading Co., an obscure organization with a Panamanian address. When Bakwin learned that the company had plans to auction the art, he asked the Art Loss Register, a firm that tracks stolen art, to intervene. They want to know who the owners of Erie International Trading are, how they got the paintings, and what they may know about the theft. One of the paintings - a Cezanne worth $30 million - was recovered but "under duress". The others including two portraits by Soutine and two others by French painters Maurice de Vlaminck and Maurice Utrillo look like heading for a court decision. For the full story - click the title Irish Art