A $2 million painting by Arshile Gorky has been ruled to be the property of tennis legend John McEnroe, and must be returned, a New York Judge has decided.  McEnroe purchased the piece Pirate II in 2004 with gallery owner Lawrence Salander, who is currently serving a six year sentence for grand larceny, and sued for the recovery of the works from dealerJoseph Carroll after they were sold without McEnroe’s knowledge.  “Carroll acquired Pirate II in a grossly undervalued transaction in which he chose to make no inquiry as to Salander’s authority to sell the work,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich wrote in her decision.

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Kevin Sutherland, the Miami pastor who was arrested last month for the attempted sale of several counterfeited works attributed to Damien Hirst, was indicted yesterday on grand larceny charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.  The pastor had allegedly attempted to sell undercover officers a number of fake Hirsts (one of which is pictured here) for $185,000.  His attorney, Sanford Talkin, claims that there is “more to the story.”

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