The mystery of the disappearing Rolf Harris painting came before the judges of the Court of Appeal today. Lovers On The Seine - one of the Australian entertainer's best-known works - was bought by collector Dean Hardy from the Castle Galleries in 2004. It is now said to be worth more than £100,000. Mr Hardy arranged for the painting to be stored with other works of art he had purchased at the galleries' head office and warehouse at Tachbrook Park, Warwick. But the artwork went missing from the warehouse in 2005 and has not been seen since. When Mr Hardy died a year later, the family, from Nottinghamshire, took Castle Galleries and its associate company, Washington Green Fine Art Publishing Company, to court. They won a ruling from a High Court judge sitting in Birmingham that the painting had been ‘dishonestly appropriated’ by Washington Green and were awarded £107,000 damages plus legal costs. There was no finding against Castle Galleries, which had been put into administration a month before the hearing was due to begin. Today, Philip Marshall QC, representing Washington Green, argued that his clients had never had possession of the painting - it was always under the control of Castle Galleries before its disappearance. He said that although Castle Galleries became an associated company of Washington Green, their stocks were always kept separate and not stored together at the same warehouse until after the painting disappeared.

Artist Rolf Harris unveils his oil portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 2005

‘There was no evidence whatever to support any allegation of dishonest appropriation against Washington Green or any of its officers, including its managing director, Mr Udi Sheleg,’ he said. High Court judge Simon Brown QC said in his ruling against the gallery that one of the most valuable paintings in its possession had gone missing, the owners had not been told and no insurance claim was made. Nigel Godsmark QC, representing the family, said the judge was entitled to reach the conclusion that Mr Sheleg knew what had happened and he was personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss. ‘This painting goes missing, nobody tells the owners and no insurance claim is made,’ he said. Lord Justice Longmore added: ‘The judge thought it was fishy.’ Mr Marshall said there was no evidence that Washington Green or Mr Sheleg were aware of the existence of the painting prior to its disappearance. He said the trial judge had also found that the Halcyon Group, meaning Castle Galleries, Washington Green and Halcyon, were one economic unit, but there was no allegation of, nor evidence for, this. ‘The fact that they are the same individuals heading each company does not mean that they are the same company in law,’ he said. He said the ‘overall impression’ of the High Court judgment was that the judge was ‘evidently vexed’ that the liability for the loss was being denied on the grounds of the separate corporate personality of Washington Green and Castle. The judgment against Washington Green and the findings of dishonesty should be set aside, he told the appeal judges, who reserved their ruling to a later date.



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