Two years ago, when William Kingsland died in NYC, he left behind what was thought to be not only a stellar and eccentric life, but what turned out to be an amazing private collection. He was known as a bit of a dandy, wearing a white beret and speaking with a high-fallutin’ accent. Nobody ever got into his private dwelling to view the “collection” until after his death in 2006. When they did get in, though, and when experts began to research the 300+ paintings that were contained therein, well… Kingsland’s well-packaged façade crumbled.

A major portion of the paintings – including works by Picasso, Hassam, Copley, Giacometti, Toulouse-Lautrec and Sir Peter Lely – were reported “missing” in the 1960s and 1970s. That’s “missing,” mind you, not stolen. With Kingsland dead and unable to vouch for the provenance and acquisition of the works, the FBI refused to call them stolen. Instead, the paintings were pulled from the numerous auctions to which they had been consigned, more than half were returned to original owners, and now the Bureau has posted the remaining 140 online in a virtual gallery in the hopes of finding the owners of the rest. This is a collection that, taken together, is worth a good $2-$3 million.

Now, I was never much good at math, but I do know that 2+2 = 4, and I’d be inclined to speculate that Kingsland may have acquired the paintings by illegal means. I can’t say he’s a thief because it can’t be proven now, but add it up for yourself. No one ever saw the collection when he was alive, no one knew it existed, and that fancy Park Avenue accent? A fake. His parents were poor Eastern European immigrants.

I love America, and NYC especially, because it’s a place you can go and totally reinvent yourself. Kingsland did just that, hobknobbed with the rich and famous, and had a good life for himself despite the fact that, in death, he was a phony. I say that the man must have had an iron will to be able to maintain a pose for so long, and that he possibly practiced it so long that he himself believed by the time the end came.

When Kingsland died, the art world was abuzz with news of the collection. It wasn’t too long before the art world was abuzz with news that the paintings were mostly “missing” from collections. Did he do it, or not? You decide for yourself. Nothing can be proven at this point.

If you want to check out the article from The International Herald Tribune, then click here. Here’s the link to the FBI’s gallery.

-Noah Fleisher, Aug. 14, 2008