(1888PressRelease)
April 05, 2008 - A few years ago super art sleuth Tony Russell’s recovery of “The Scream,” a famous painting by Edvard Munch, was a hot news item in Europe and the U.S. and then things quieted down – until the same painting was stolen again in 2004 from a museum in Oslo, Norway, a decade after Russell had returned the painting to its rightful owner.
Russell, co-founder of Scotland Yard’s art recovery investigative unit, now is head of art recovery for a private company, Art Recovery Ltd.
The double-theft of the same painting in 10 years is indicative of the fact that there is a great demand for works of art by the masters to be owned, not shown, by private individuals with money to spend for “under the counter” purchases from art smugglers.
During World War II the Nazi’s had a special forces-type squad, knowledgeable about paintings, which would steal master works of art from the homes of the rich in Europe and confiscate the paintings for the Third Reich.
Every few years reports come out of Europe about a famous painting that has been discovered and turned over to a museum for public showing.
This oft-repeated theme from real life is the main thread which runs through the plot of a new historical novel by Reginald Keith, The Malcontents: Betrayal is Forgiveness’ Greatest Challenge (ISBN: 9781602475373), Tate Publishing & Enterprises (www.tatepublishing.com).
The Malcontents takes place in post-Word War II Germany and involves a group of former Nazi officials who had access to valuable paintings confiscated by the Nazi’s during the war. The group plots to sell the paintings to raise money to finance a movement that wants to bring back Aryan Supremacy into the German nation.
The owner of a respect art gallery in Berlin, Andre von Kunst, is unaware that long-time friend and business partner Hannelore is one of the malcontents secretly working to smuggle original works of art to America as copies. Andre would never have discovered what was going on behind the scenes in his own gallery if he had not become fascinated with Katya Preznoski, first violinist with the Polish State Orchestra directed by Maestro Mylovic Karpinski.
The plot involves people of honor and integrity – Katya, Maestro Karpinski, Andre and his receptionist Else – against the wilful and secretive Hannelore and the band of malcontents who surround her. Working in and out of the plot is a pair of insurance investigators who came across a valuable original painting sold in America as a copy.
As in other good works of fiction, The Malcontents mixes in facts and reality tells me that Reginald Keith spent a lot of time researching the real world to lay a realistic background for the fictional tale he so artfully spins.
The author, Reginald Keith of Michigan, lived in Europe for several years and relied on that background in writing this recently-released novel. The book is available for purchase at most online book stores such as www.amazon.com, www.barnsandnoble.com, and www.buy.com among others.
###
