Almeida & Dale, one of Brazil’s most prominent galleries, was raided on Wednesday by police in connection to the case of three missing paintings by modernist Alfredo Volpi.
The São Paulo State Department of Criminal Investigations (Deic) arrived at the gallery’s branch in the Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo with a search warrant regarding the painting by Volpi, valued at R$6.4 million (about $1.2 million), which have been the focus of a civil dispute. The artist’s estate has accused gallery cofounder Carlos Dale of brokering the unauthorized sale in 2006 of Bandeirinhas Estruturadas com Mastro no. 1996, Cinetico/Mosaicos, and Fachadas- no 1999.
Volpi, a Brazilian modernist celebrated for his vibrant abstract paintings, died in 1988. The artist’s estate reported the three works as stolen in 2008.
The gallery claimed no wrongdoing on its part in a statement posted to Instagram yesterday: “Nearly twenty years ago, the gallery acted as an intermediary in the sale of three works by Vlopi, in legitimate and fully documented transactions that took place prior to any judicial inquiry. These transactions occurred in 2006, well before the theft report filed by the artist’s family.”
According to the statement, Dale was “summoned to provide clarification” regarding the three missing paintings. The gallery stated that at the time, Dale had been designated the “legal custodian” of the works due to what it described as “erroneous legal guidance,” including the signing of an agreement without proper power of attorney.
“Annulment proceedings are underway to correct this error,” the gallery said, reiterating that it never owned the works.
No works were seized in the raid, though ArtReview reported that a laptop was taken. The gallery stated that it acted in “good faith and full collaboration with the Justice system, in favor of the truth and the integrity of the national artistic heritage.”
