Missing Degas Painting Turns up In Henry Bloch’s Home

In 1991, Huguette Clark moved from her apartment to a hospital room, leaving her art collection behind. Within the next two years, her attorney found that one of Clark’s Degas paintings, “Danseuse Faisant des Pointes,” was missing. Clark didn’t want to publicly pursue the matter, but the FBI ended up involved anyways and Clark discouraged them from investigating.

Since the FBI was not investigating, one well-dressed man was able to waltz into the Peter Findlay Gallery in 1993 with a Degas painting that he said he wanted help selling. Findlay tried everything to ascertain the painting’s history, but could not come up with any leads, even after looking at the art loss register.

After the painting ended up in the Findlay gallery, Henry Bloch of H&R Block, bought the painting. In 2007, the U.S. attorney’s office asked Bloch to turn over his painting for investigation. Bloch argued that the painting was theirs and disputed that it was stolen.

Clark wanted that painting back, but the only way she could get it was to get involved in a messy public dispute. She ended up striking a deal with Bloch. The Blochs will donate the painting to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, but they will be allowed to keep the painting in their house until their deaths. Clark ended up getting a charitable deduction on her “donation.”

Nelson-Atkins insisted that a doctor sign off that Clark was of sound mind when she gifted the painting. Clark’s physician was happy to sign off to this effect. The only problem is that if the doctor had found Clark to be incompetent, he would not have received gifts in her will that exceed $100,0000.

See Barney Brantingham, Case of the Stolen $10-Million Painting, Santa Barbara Independent, Mar. 22, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.