Some of the artwork sold to my mother had damage. Mr. Koch told her the damage to the artwork was from it being saved from a fire at an art storage warehouse. I had been looking for this fire to be in South Florida.
In The Notes are several mentions of a Washington Storage and Washington Gallery in Miami. Along with a lot of South Florida information he discussed with her, had me focused there. Plus I could only gather information as the internet grew and opened up the door of information for me to put this whole story together.
After years of research, putting together the information/facts from my mother’s story regarding her artwork, I was able to find the fire we had been looking for for over 20 years.
Only instead of it being somewhere in South Florida it was across the pond in London.
I believe that Frederick Robinson Koch and/or John Olsen know who did it or were directly involved in the October 7, 1991 James Bourlet & Sons Art Warehouse Fire.
You can see damage on two pieces below.
- March 18, 1990 – Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum.
- Trying to prove – Heist done by Frederick R. Koch and John Olsen.
- December 21, 1990 – MARY Robinson Koch passes away.
- She is the mother of Frederick R. Koch. My mother’s name is also Mary.
- September 21, 1991 – Robert Donati is murdered by the mafia, because of art heist.
- October 7, 1991 – James Bourlet & Sons London warehouse art storage fire.
- Trying to prove Fire done by Frederick R. Koch and/or John Olsen.
- November 1991 – Stranger arrives in my mother’s (MARY) life and begins to sell her artwork. We still have some of the artwork and hand written notes between them.
- Trying to prove – this was Frederick R. Koch.
- February 1992 – My mother visits Sotheby’s they authenticate the Snowy Egret, Jane Peterson painting.
- March 1992 – Stranger departs in hospital scene with a newspaper obituary, but turns out he is alive.
- April 1992 – Sotheby’s signs contract with my mother on the Jane Peterson painting.
- 1994 Someone writes a letter to the museum trying to return the stolen artwork and claiming they have knowledge of international art transactions. My Miami research connects to a company called International Art Trading. They request to communicate through the newspaper.
- Trying to prove – Frederick R. Koch wrote this letter.
Suzanne has been actively making claims of solving the heist since June 21, 2012 and the fire January 24, 2011. To Robert Wittman and Julian Radcliffe. Discovered Mr. Koch was Frederick R. Koch August of 2010. So nearly 14 years…
