[ChildOfThe60s]

Pretty (suspiciously) sloppy on the part of dealer and purchaser. I find it difficult to believe that Spielberg would buy it without having it vetted by an expert third party. I certainly wouldn't. And Spielberg may be a pukey leftist, but he's not stupid. Not when spending that kind of money.

Sounds more like he was concerned the sniffing was getting too close and made a preemptive strike.

[sockmonkey]

Pretty (suspiciously) sloppy on the part of dealer and purchaser.

To say nothing of whoever carries the insurance on his art collection, eh?

[BaylorDad]

Sounds more like he was concerned the sniffing was getting too close and made a preemptive strike.

Bingo. That was my first impression. Somebody had to know he had it. Can you say blackmail? He had to know the jig was up and opted to play the stupid card.

[all_mighty_dollar]

Sounds more like he was concerned the sniffing was getting too close and made a preemptive strike.

Wonder if Speilberg PO'ed anybody in the recent weeks?

[pepsionice]

There are only X number of Rockwells...so when a dealer gets ready to put it on the market...you would absolutely expect him to provide information on the item...who owned it...the history...etc. This whole story smells bogus. How did Spielberg acquire it in the first place? I'm betting he knew more about the story. Alot of Hollywood types buy stolen art and just keep it for private showings.