Two Michel Jean Cazabon paintings worth $250,000 each were stolen from the National Museum’s collection in August 2012, the T&T Guardian has learned. The paintings, whose identities were withheld by the museum, were recovered just weeks after the theft when an art dealer, whose identity was also undisclosed, tried to sell them back to the museum curators. There are still doubts amongst art experts as to whether the watercolours now hanging on the museum wall are in fact the originals.
The theft has raised concerns about security in the gallery that holds some of the country’s finest artworks, in particular the Cazabon collection, which sits in a separate air-conditioned room on the top floor of the museum. The theft has been known to the art community in Port-of-Spain for some months. Artists and local gallery owners have discussed the matter in private and at an event hosted by the Art Society of T&T on July 18, LeRoy Clarke became the first artist to speak about it publicly.
Clarke said, “Do you know what is happening to your museum right now? Do you know the rumour around that so many pieces of art are missing? People steal and then the next day a print comes back as if it were the original, and we do not have the facilities to check or authenticate anything.” The theft occurred whilst former museum curator Nimah Muwakil was on maternity leave. Tej Ramlogan, cultural arts officer at the Ministry of Arts, was technically in charge of the museum at the time, deputising for Muwakil.
Ramlogan confirmed to the Guardian that the stolen paintings were from the collection of works by Cazabon, Trinidad’s best-known 19th-century artist. A museum attendant noticed the missing painting on a Saturday afternoon last August and reported it to Ramlogan, who closed the Cazabon room for some months and asked the curatorial team at the gallery to produce a report.
That report never materialised, however, and the incident was not reported to the police until January, when Muwakil returned from maternity leave and produced a full report on the incident for the permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration, Jacinta Bailey-Sobers. Muwakil then reported the theft to Belmont Police Station.
‘Art dealer not reported to police for questioning’
It is unclear why the art dealer was not reported to the police for questioning when he visited the museum with the painting in his possession, amongst several works of art he was trying to sell on behalf of a client. In May, Muwakil resigned to take up a position at the Central Bank museum. The Guardian asked her for a copy of the incident report, but following professional protocol, Muwakil said it was the ministry’s responsibility to disclose the report.
Speaking to the Guardian last Tuesday, Bailey-Sobers said the ministry had only become aware of the incident when the Guardian told her what had happened and she was “not prepared to accept that a theft has happened.” In a seemingly contradictory statement she also said the matter was being investigated by the police and a media statement would be released in the next two days.
When pressed for details of the alleged robbery she said she could not disclose details while the matter was being investigated. She said, however, no arrests had been made. Asked about the length of time it had taken to investigate, she said the police had spoken to the ministry on July 6 to say “administrative problems had delayed their investigations.”
Deputy Police Commissioner Mervyn Richardson told the Guardian, “I’m not aware that they stole anything from the National Museum, but now that you’re telling me this I will look into it.” It is not the first time artworks have gone missing from the museum. In the mid-90s a collection of ancient West African art disappeared and subsequent investigations revealed that the pieces had not been properly documented when they were acquired. It is unclear whether the curatorial procedure has improved since.
‘Paintings worth around $250,000 each’
Geoffrey MacLean, owner of the Medulla Gallery, estimated the paintings were worth around $250,000 each. He said, “Part of the problem at the National Museum is the inventories. Important collections should have a detailed inventory—titles, dates, sizes and photographs. There is very little control over what goes on in the museum generally.
“I do not blame the curators, they are not assisted in terms of resources. It’s a mess and typical of the whole attitude to conservation in this country.” MacLean, LeRoy Clarke and Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, a director of the Art Society, all said they hoped publicising the incident would help raise the important issue of preserving and protecting the nation’s public collection.
The gallery has been understaffed for some time. At one stage in her tenure, Muwakil single-handedly ran the museum. She had been deputy under curator Vel Lewis and was promoted when Lewis was made deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism. She acted not just as curator for the gallery but for the whole museum, including the natural history collection, whilst also acting as administrative director.
Responsibility for the National Museum has been passed between three different ministries in the past five years. Senior figures in the art community told the Guardian they feel the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration will now be persuaded to fully staff the museum with assistants and trainees and provide sufficient funds to run the museum correctly.