[CPProt.net] Artist denies stealing work

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Artist denies stealing work
From: AAP 
August 15, 2005 
 
A nationally acclaimed Queensland artist at the centre of a major art theft
investigation insists he paid for the works he is accused of stealing.

Richard Noel Dunlop, 44, has been charged with stealing after police seized
hundreds of artworks from his northside Brisbane home on Friday.
A police spokeswoman said today the artworks were allegedly taken from the
Doggett Street Studio art gallery in Fortitude Valley in 1994, and from
Sydney galleries between 1996 and 2003.

The pieces, including paintings, prints and sketches, are of Australian
works by contemporary artists such as William Robinson and Joe Furlonger.

Some pieces are thought to have been stolen from prominent Sydney art dealer
Ray Hughes.

The police spokeswoman said the haul was estimated to be worth between
$500,000 and $1 million, making it one of the biggest alleged thefts of
original Australian artwork.

Police raided Mr Dunlop's home after another Brisbane artist complained
about thefts dating back 10 years.
Mr Dunlop today said many of the works seized were his own and he paid $75
in cash for the works in question in 1994.

"It's quite an unregulated industry. There's rarely or there sometimes is no
paper trail," Mr Dunlop said.

"They're worth approximately $600 now, so the notion of the greatest art
heist of the century is rather flattering, but misleading."

Mr Dunlop has been issued with a notice to appear in Brisbane Magistrates
Court on September 12.

He said he would be strongly defending the allegations.

Police have begun contacting artists across the country to verify whether
the pieces found in Mr Dunlop's home were owned legitimately.