British Art Dealer Sentenced for Stealing Ronnie Wood’s Paintings
British art dealer Jonathan Poole was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing from his clients, including Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Reuters reports. The 69-year-old dealer also represented Miles Davis and John Lennon’s estates. He plead guilty to 26 charges of fraud and theft made between 1986 and 2013, from which he earned $664,000 overtime.
The majority of the pieces Poole stole were portraits or caricatures of celebrities. Among Wood’s paintings were portraits of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and Marilyn Monroe. Per The Guardian, Poole also pilfered pieces by Lennon, German artist Sebastian Krüger and famed French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
During the trial, prosecutor James Ward compared the case to the 1999 Pierce Brosnan remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. “Both Thomas Crown and Jonathan Poole stole the paintings in broad daylight,” he said. “Whilst Thomas Crown stole as a challenge because his world had become too safe, Jonathan Poole stole either to fund a gambling habit, or to stash away money for later life.”
As for Wood, the guitarist has long pursued visual art alongside his music career. He studied at the Ealing Art College and his work has been exhibited around the world. In October, Wood will publish a new collection of his work, Ronnie Wood: Artist.