Contrary to the prevailing consensus, lost works of art no longer want to stay out of sight. The belief is that once a painting is lost, be it stolen, misplaced or simply destroyed, it is accepted near enough impossible for them to resurface.
Lately though, lost art appears to be disinclined to wallow in nothingness. On the more controversial side of things, it was reported that Caravaggio drawings had been found in Florence – still being authenticated – while a Gustav Klimt fresco was discovered in a garage in Austria – some argue it is the work of his brother Ernst.
On the less divisive end, it was reported that Henri Matisse’s Odalisque a la Culotte Rouge (Odalisque in Red Pants) had been recovered during a sting operation in Miami and now it has emerged that a Roy Lichtenstein work of art has emerged in a New York warehouse.
The painting Electric Cord (1961) vanished after its owner Leo Castelli, a prominent American art collector, had sent it out to be cleaned in 1970. It never returned.
Although he had paid a very modest $750 (approximately £482) for it, the market value for it will be significantly greater given the demand for contemporary works. One estimate puts it at $4 million (£2.6 million).
Electric Cord is distinct in comparison to other paintings by the famous Pop Art visionary, as it is simply in black and white. The absence of colour, the signature style in pop art, makes it decidedly unique among Lichtenstein’s entire body of work.
The painting, which is of a tightly wound electric cord, can be interpreted as satire of the movement itself. The irony is not lost here and thus it remains faithful to the sardonic sensibilities of Pop Art.
A New York judge has ordered that the painting remains in the warehouse until a hearing can establish who it rightly belongs to. It is thought to have been shipped in to Manhattan from Bogota in Columbia.
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