Hiding

Rivera didn’t waste any time and escaped by hiding on the floor of his station wagon with the help of his assistant who helped him to reach a safe place. He fled to San Fransico because he feared that plain cloth policemen might frame him in the assassination case of Trotsky. So he remained underground for 5 months in San Francisco. What would he do next?

 Piece Of Art

“I want to make clear to you that the difficulties that have been created for me within the last few days are the result of the work of Mexican agents of the Stalin-Nazis, who want to avoid my going to the States, to injure me here in every way, and assassinate me if possible,” he told his fears to a close friend. While he remained underground in  San Francisco he went on to paint one of the most important pieces of art in America, titled “Pan American Unity”.

Back In Present

After she told Rue about the back history of the artist, Colleene went on to unravel more secrets related to the artist and the painting. What next was she going to tell? She continued, “The research that we found in the authentication process is that it had been missing. In the records of Mexico city, it was unknown…where is the painting? Where is ‘El Albañil? Which is ‘The Laborer’. It was an important painting for him in 1904, and then it disappeared.”

Disbelief

After listening to all the revelations, Rue was stunned with the discoveries. He stared at the appraiser in disbelief when she said that the painting had disappeared all of a sudden. Would he be able to put the missing pieces of the puzzle and solve the mystery?

Discovery

“Well, I think you have something of a painting trifecta here,” Colleene said. “The painting itself is by a very important artist, it has a terrific history–being purchased in Mexico in 1930–and it’s a very beautiful and important painting. So…trifectas usually pay pretty well,” Rue’s face lightened up when he heard the statement. He started estimating the value he could get for the painting.

Unbelievable Price

“I would be putting a retail estimate on the painting of between $800,000 and $1,000,000,” she said in conclusion. Rue was staring at her amazement because this came as a surprise to him so he said:  ”Seriously?” he exclaimed. He couldn’t think of a painting which had been hung on the backside in his office to be worth a million dollar!