Matthiessen Gallery files suit against a convicted fraudster, an artist, another Old Master art gallery and a top art collector alleging fraud, breach of contract and four other counts over a Gustave Courbet painting Mother and child in hammock.
In court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the London-based gallery claimed that Thomas Austin Doyle “launched a multi-year scheme to defraud gallery director Patrick Matthiesen” into selling the painting.
Last year, Doyle told Matthiessen that he had found a buyer willing to pay $550,000 for the painting and would facilitate the sale without any commission, according to the documents. Doyle gave the work of the 19th-century French painter to artist, art dealer and business partner Shalva Sarukhanishvili. Saruhanishvili subsequently sold mother and child in hammock Sold for $115,000 at Jill Newhouse Gallery in New York. Gill Newhouse Gallery subsequently sold it to art news Top 200 collector Jon Landau sold in September 2024 for $125,000.
The actual retail price of the painting is $650,000, and Matthiesen Gallery has sold it for that price over the years, including at the TEFAF auction in New York in 2019.
“Finally, after years of deception, Doyle admitted in an email on March 4, 2025, that he had betrayed Plaintiff. He advised Plaintiff to work with Saruhanishvili to resolve the matter. As a result, Plaintiff began sending emails to Saruhanishvili requesting retrieval of owed money or paintings. Saruhanishvili dismissed any requests for assistance and then severed communications.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Landau had previously “viewed the painting multiple times at multiple locations,” including at TEFAF Maastricht in 2023, when it was on consignment from Nicholas Hall Gallery, and that “each time he knew the painting would retail for $650,000 or more,” but that he currently owns the painting. mother and child in hammock But refused to return it to Matthiessen.
when art news When contacted for comment by Jill Newhouse Gallery, attorney Amelia K. Brankov wrote in an email, “The claims filed against Jill Newhouse LLC are without merit and will be vigorously defended in court.”
Landau’s attorney, Jonathan D. Kraut, tells us art news In an email, “As for our client Jon Landau, we believe this lawsuit is completely without merit and we will address it accordingly in court.”
Saruhanishvili could not be reached for comment as of press time.
It is worth noting that a previous lawsuit filed against Doyle in September 2010 portrait of a girl, According to the report, it was discovered that Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot “spent more than two years in prison after admitting in 2007 to stealing a bronze statue of Degas’ nude dancer from an art collector.” new york times 2010.
Just days later, Doyle was arrested in September 2010 by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Preet Bharara on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, scheming to fraudulently purchase the painting for $800,000. It has an estimated value of $1.35 million.
Doyle pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to the New York Times, during a sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court, Federal District Court Judge Colleen McMahon recounted that Doyle had been convicted 11 times in the past 34 years. new york times.
“You are a career criminal by all accounts,” Judge McMahon told Doyle before sentencing him to six years in prison. “Society needs to be protected from you; you are a predator.”
