A PAINTING worth thousands has been stolen in a sophisticated case of art fraud that has left a popular North Yorkshire artist out of pocket.
The painting, worth almost £7,000 and titled Yorkshire Welcomes the World, is part of the UK’s most popular published artist Lucy Pittaway's cycling-themed collection, was bought in October
It was bought in October and payment was made via a phone purchase that later turned out to be made using stolen credit cards.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- 'There’s still reason to be positive' - York's LGBTQ+ community on cultural changes
- York city centre shop in historic building closes its doors
It was not flagged as suspicious by the bank or the card merchant, and the artwork was delivered to an address in Liverpool.
Lucy Pittaway said: "We have changed our procedures to ensure this can never happen again. But in the meantime, we are asking for the community’s help.
"This theft has caused a financial and emotional impact on a small business that takes pride in supporting creativity and employment in the North of England. We just want the painting back."
The incident was reported to Merseyside Police, North Yorkshire Police, and ReportFraud, but it has not been investigated and the painting remains missing.
Lucy said that the business has suffered a "significant impact" as the loss is not covered by insurance and the funds used to buy the painting have been returned to the real owner of the stolen card.
She added: "We know that the matter is a complex one. When a crime of this nature takes place, it’s not clear which jurisdiction it falls under from an investigatory point of view and we’re in no way blaming the police. But with no investigation forthcoming, we feel we’ve no choice but to appeal directly for information.
This has been devastating for us. It’s obviously shocking to lose the money, but when I think of all the time it took me to paint the picture, the emotional impact of the staff that took the payments in good faith, delivering the picture all the way to Liverpool, and the time it has taken trying to contact relevant authorities to see what support was available, it’s been a really unpleasant journey.
"We’re a small, family-run business and a loss like this has a significant impact.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact info@lucypittaway.co.uk
