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Painting Sold At Church Auction Sells Again For $489,600 (pressured to donate part to Church)
WNNE ^ | June 18, 2004

Posted on 06/19/2004 11:46:35 PM PDT by Michael2001

DUBLIN, N.H. -- A group of friends who bought a painting for $3,200 at a church auction and then sold it for more than 150 times that price are being pressured to share some of the money.

Rick O'Connor and Roy Gandhi-Schwatlo, of Dublin, and Dawn Ward, of Rindge, purchased the painting at an August 2003 auction to benefit the Dublin Community Church. They later put the painting on the auction block at Sotheby's in New York, where it sold in January for $489,600.

The roughly 13-inch by 11½-inch panel of the Madonna and child turned out to be the lost third of a 14th-century triptych painted by an unknown Sienese artist. It was donated to the auction by Jessie Hale, of Dublin, whose family had owned it for nearly 100 years.

Word of the painting's worth has spread around town, and some residents say the buyers have a responsibility to donate some of their new fortune to Hale and the church.

"The whole thing's just unfortunately slimy," said Charles Pillsbury, who volunteered at the auction. "It's just too bad."

O'Connor was on the committee that organized the auction and was responsible for acquiring paintings for the auction. He said he never spoke with Hale about her painting, and no one in his group knew its real value before buying it.

"We were all friends and decided we would buy the painting," he said Thursday. "We just thought it would be a great investment."

O'Connor said he and his friends considered offering some of the money to Hale but may change their minds because of the hostility they've encountered.

"We're basically innocent people here," he said. "Do you come back after you buy something at a yard sale and tell the owner, 'Oh, geez, we've got to give you back half of everything we've made on this product?'"

As members of the auction committee, O'Connor and Gandhi-Schwatlo spent weeks putting together a successful event, said committee chairman Tom Blodgett.

He called them "honest and honorable people," adding, "I hope that they will rethink their situation and make a personal gesture to the Dublin community."

Hale declined to comment to The Union Leader of Manchester.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: art; catholic; christian
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To: Michael2001

O'Connor making this kind of profit doesn't pass the smell test. He was the both the seller's agent and the buyer. If as agent he sold a $489,000 painting to a third party for $3,200 not knowing what it was worth, I'd chalk it up as one of those things. If as a buyer not connected to the church auction he saw a steal, err bargain, and made a 15,000% return on his money, great for him. But he was both. An agent cannot screw his principal like that. If this church was a local government that sold something worth $489,000 for $3,200 to the government employee in charge of the sale there would be an indictment.


41 posted on 06/20/2004 6:41:52 AM PDT by Pilsner
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To: Michael2001

Interesting they make it sound like an "evil church" story. The fact is, any charity, once hearing about a large windfall, will set their donation dogs upon it and try to get a piece of it - using some related history is always useful in a potential transaction. This is how private donating should work, rather than a government collecting our money and handing it out to anyone who asks.

If these "friends" don't want to donate anything, it's their right to refuse. They're not being forced to to anything; they were obviously going to keep all the dough, and they resent the fact that they're "expected" to make a sacrifice now. Whining to the press so they can feel better about not making a grateful donation to the church, I guess!


42 posted on 06/20/2004 7:02:31 AM PDT by AmericanChef
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To: giotto

Did the giver know the value of the painting, that he owned, when he donated it to the church?


43 posted on 06/20/2004 7:05:06 AM PDT by chainsaw (http://www.hanoi-john.org.)
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To: Pilsner

Agreed.


44 posted on 06/20/2004 7:16:41 AM PDT by NittanyLion
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To: Michael2001
"The whole thing's just unfortunately slimy," said Charles Pillsbury, who volunteered at the auction. "It's just too bad."

Socialists consider all wealth to be community property, except for _THEIR_ wealth.

45 posted on 06/20/2004 7:21:17 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Drug prohibition laws help fund terrorism.)
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To: Michael2001

GOD mandates tithing 10% should go to some worthy cause to help the poor...48K would be a nice amount to the church as well as other people in need...


46 posted on 06/20/2004 8:50:33 AM PDT by missyme
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To: stands2reason

THEY PURCHASED IT FROM THE CHURCH. THE CHURCH DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS WORTH? BUYER/SELLER BEWARE. SELLERS REMORSE. OH WELL.


47 posted on 06/20/2004 8:53:54 AM PDT by television is just wrong
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To: Lokibob
What figure does he put down on his celestial form 1040 as his tithe, $10,000 or $7,000?

I personally always pay tithe on gross. My belief is that this is God's money even if the government does take part of it before I get it. There is no mention in the Bible of taxes being exempt from tithes.

48 posted on 06/20/2004 9:09:10 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Latine loqui coactus sum)
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To: Anglospheroid
Ahhh yes.. another good person making a moral compromise so that these idiots can take a bunch of money for themselves.

Capitalism without Christianity is hell on earth.. I can tell you that right now.
49 posted on 06/20/2004 10:00:58 AM PDT by Almondjoy
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To: Lokibob

He tithes on what is appropriate for him.

IMHO, those who actually give 10% on the net, instead of the gross, give me no cause to complain. If all did this, churches would not have problems taking care of their basic needs and charity.

also, my belief is that God's work is not solely through the Church but in personally taking care of his flock. (i.e. some of that 10% is charity outside the Church)


50 posted on 06/20/2004 10:07:39 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Southack

I'll give you seventy-five cents for it, but the offer expires at midnight.


51 posted on 06/20/2004 8:39:22 PM PDT by gcruse (http://gcruse.typepad.com/)
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To: Michael2001
What absurdity, those guys donated $3200 when they bought the painting.
I did not see anything in the article that indicated they knew the painting had hidden value.

Then what about the family that donated the painting, it had been in their family for 100 years and they don't seem to have had it looked at and valued by an art appraiser.
Now all of these spoil sports think these guys should donate more of the windfall to the Church. I don't think so.
Those guys need to do whatever they would like with their shares of the money. The rest of these greedy folks can just stew in their juices and think what if.
52 posted on 06/20/2004 8:50:46 PM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Lokibob

He should pay (if he chooses to) on what he actually received. $70,000.


53 posted on 06/20/2004 11:31:02 PM PDT by DB (©)
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To: Miss Marple
I agree...nice cogent response Miss.

I have sold thru Sothebys and Christys back in the 80s....not a venue for dilettantes.
54 posted on 06/20/2004 11:37:25 PM PDT by wardaddy (It will take at least 100,000 deaths on US soil to bring America to a true war footing....sadly.)
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To: mariejlt
I wonder what denomination this church is?

I can take a guess, based on the fact that one of the guy's last names is O'Connor, that this is a Catholic Church. But I don't really think it matters here.
55 posted on 06/21/2004 1:23:05 AM PDT by Michael2001 (Every man lives, and every man dies, but not every man truly lives)
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To: television is just wrong
"THE CHURCH DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS WORTH? BUYER/SELLER BEWARE."

Great point... except that in this case, the seller—the person the church trusted to get the best price for the painting—just happens to be the very same person who then bought the painting for less than 1% of its true value.

"SELLERS REMORSE."

This particular seller should be feeling his remorse in prison.

56 posted on 06/21/2004 1:45:08 AM PDT by Fabozz
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To: Lokibob

Good question. I go with the $7,000, personally (10% of net).


57 posted on 06/21/2004 11:39:05 AM PDT by vollmond
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To: vollmond

How come you guys are hung up on fraud?? I don't see anything wrong, the partners took a chance of the painting, they may or may not have suspected it was worth more. So what, if the church was happy with their $ 3200. So be it.

I wish I could go back to every deal I have ever made, and tell the other person, hey you sold what I sold you and you made some money on it, so I think you should split with me. Yeah right. get real, this happens every day. I am bidding on some old coins as we speak, and I hope to find a market for them and make some money.


58 posted on 06/22/2004 10:16:51 PM PDT by BooBoo1000
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