The Feds Are Collecting Art Works From the Depression That Were Lost or Stolen

Here’s an interesting story that reveals the GSA has been recovering 460 art works made for the Depression-era Works Progress Administration—and subsequently lost or stolen—worth $4.3m since 2001. Just in the period from April to September of 2015, 54 works valued at $500,000 were recovered. But every recovery causes someone to lose.

Here’s the account from ABC News:

The feds filed a lawsuit last week to lay claim to a painting that Cherry Hill art dealer Matthew Schwartz listed on eBay for $8,500 in October 2015.

Schwartz told the Courier-Post that he will argue that the U.S. General Services Administration has no right to the “1934 Farmer” painting that he purchased several years ago and carefully restored.

The GSA said that the painting was created more than 80 years ago by John Slavin, who was employed through a Depression Era program for artists.

Schwartz, who runs an online art dealership, said the only reason the GSA wants the oil-on-canvas painting of a man smoking a pipe is because he saved it.