Friday

Sotheby's £500,000 Missing Art

A painting worth an estimated £500,000 has disappeared from Sotheby's auction rooms in New Bond Street, London. Sotheby's said it had contacted the police and was studying CCTV footage, but at this stage could not say whether the painting had been stolen. "All we can say is that it's missing," an embarrassed spokeswoman said. She said it had been sent to the auction house by a private client, but would not say who the client was, or give further details of the work. But she denied a newspaper report that the old master had disappeared after a staff Christmas party. Irish Art