Original Portrait of Pope Paul VI Stolen in 1989
Two and a half weeks before Pope Paul VI visited the United Nations in
New York City in October, 1965, Dexter Press of New York gave me photographs of the Pope. They were exclusively brought from the Vatican and had to be signed for.
I worked continuously on a portrait of Pope Paul VI without stopping until it was completed. The painting was then flown by Mr. Dexter to Florida to do the color separations. More than 3 million copies were then reproduced in two sizes, 11 inches by 14 inches (279 mm by 356 mm) and continental size, and were sold out instantly. This portrait was on display in my illuminated street-level window every year during Christmas and New Years. On January 3rd, 1989 at around 7 AM, when I returned from a fund raising auction, I found that someone had broken into the window. The portrait of the Pope and one of President Reagan were gone. I recovered the portrait of Ronald Reagan in January of 1991 (that is a story in itself), however the portrait of the Pope is still missing. If anyone knows the whereabouts of this original portrait of Pope Paul VI, I am prepared to offer a reward, send me E-Mail
|