Episode Two: The Artworks—Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, Calder, and Peterson

Welcome to Crime & Canvas! In this episode, host Suzanne Kenney reveals the incredible artworks at the heart of her 15-year journey to understand her mother's story, which unexpectedly crashed into the $1 billion Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.

Suzanne details the masterpieces her mother, Mary, received from billionaire Frederick R. Koch in 1991. Discover the Van Gogh (a true lost treasure, cut from its frame), four Picassos, including a pencil drawing, one in the Femme Assise style, a "beast" drawing quickly sold by another buyer for a significant sum, and a final painting also showing signs of being cut from its frame. Hear about four pen and pencil drawings by Alexander Calder and the beautiful ocean painting by Manet. The Jane Peterson authenticated by Sotheby's, known for being on unique Kodak paper, stands out. However, two other Jane Peterson paintings, a pelican and white parakeets, also show signs of being cut from their frames. 

Suzanne shares her unexpected joy in researching these masterpieces amidst her challenging fight for justice. This episode sets the stage for unraveling Frederick R. Koch’s deliberate "checklist" that mysteriously mirrors the stolen Gardner art. 

See the documented artwork and evidence discussed in this episode at: https://crimeandcanvaspodcast.com and click on "The Evidence" link.

Listen now to see how the art tells the story.

Transcript

This is Suzanne Kenney, and you found the crime and canvas podcast. My story begins with a deeply personal puzzle spanning decades, rooted in the act of betrayal against my own mother. It was in this pursuit of understanding her truth that I found myself unexpectedly entangled with the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist-a crime whispered about for years, and one I believe I've solved.

In Episode One, we discussed how Frederick R. Koch arrived in my mother's life at her flea market booth in Okeechobee, Florida, selling her artwork by master artists. Welcome to Episode Two. In this episode, we're going to dive deep into the artwork itself, specifically the pieces I personally saw and photographed. Now, my mother was sold many artworks, some of which I have never even had the chance to see, but the ones we can discuss here are truly remarkable.

I could never imagine that my life would lead me to the discovery of an unknown Vincent van Gogh, or that I would ever get to touch such a painting. Art wasn't anything I grew up around or was particularly interested in. My only connection to it came through my mother, Mary, as she shared her incredible stories about her art encounters with Mr. Koch. In late 1991 and in early 1992.

Thanks to her journey, I've had the immense privilege of researching many master artists. Honestly, discovering the pieces and immersing myself in their beauty and history. has been one of the few parts of this entire story that I've truly enjoyed. That joy also extended to building the websites that showcase this artwork, designing booklets to highlight their authenticity, even if they're marked by the story's shadow. Including the book Crime and Canvas that I self-published on Amazon.

Now, as I discuss these pieces, if you want some visuals to help follow along, please visit crimeandcanvaspodcast.com. Click on the Evidence link in the top navigation. At the top of that list is the artwork, and you can follow along from there.

My mother would mention names everyone has heard of, like Picasso and van Gogh, but also others I had never encountered. Artists like Calder, Peterson, and Manet, Kees Van Dongen, and Camille Bombois. I was in my early 20s then, young and focused on my own life. Buying and selling collectibles was simply what my mother did.

However, as years passed and my mother shared her growing difficulties in getting anyone to help her with this baffling artwork, I began to find myself drawn deeper and more interested into her art story. Now, my mother wasn't about artwork either; she was just about selling collectibles. So this was a new experience for both of us.

The artwork that I personally saw and photographed are by the following artists, Alexander Calder, Camille Bombois, Édouard Manet, Jane Peterson, Jim Cassel, Kees Van Dongen, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh.

Let's begin with the Alexander Calder. My mother received five distinct pen and pencil drawings from Mr. Koch. She specifically recalled how Mr. Koch described them as doodles, and she was always very particular about stressing that they were in fact pen and pencil drawings and doodles. They depicted lively, circus-type scenes.

Now, from the handwritten notes that we'll dive into in a later episode, we learn even more about these pieces. The notes state that these Calder drawings are from the Hokin Gallery in Palm Beach and were previously owned by Calder's housekeeper, a Mrs. Clifford.

We do delve more into these Calder drawings in Episode Five when we discuss the authentication challenges, which we delve into several pieces, but there's a lot more to talk about on these Calder drawings.

Next, we have a piece by Camille Bombois. From the same notes, it's mentioned that this painting is from the Naivete period. Its visual style strongly indicates it's an early piece, likely from when he was first learning to paint, and it's done on board. 

Moving on to Édouard Manet, this is a truly beautiful beach, ocean-side painting, a small canvas mounted on board. This particular painting is also mentioned in Mr. Koch's notes with my mother, where it simply stated as being from Spain.

I actually created a detailed book specifically on this painting, and you can view it along with my findings on my crimeandcanvaspodcast.com and click the evidence link in the top navigation. You'll find it there.

Now, let's talk about the Jane Peterson. My mother received three paintings by this artist, all featuring birds. There's a stunning snowy egret done in a watercolor on Kodak paper; a painting of a pelican, which notably has water damage and looks like it was cut directly out of its frame; and a very beautiful painting of white parakeets, which also appears to be cut as if from a frame. The Jane Peterson Snowy Egret painting, the one on Kodak paper, holds immense significance. It was the piece that Sotheby's actually authenticated.

I believe my mother's decision to pursue authentication with Sotheby's is what ultimately triggered the Koch brothers figuring what their brother Fred had been up to in Okeechobee. What happens next was the mysterious hospital scene we discussed in Episode One, where Fred faked an aneurysm and his own death.

After that whole bizarre episode, since my mother couldn't get any more direct help from Fred, she decided to go back and proceed with selling the painting with Sotheby's. We have the signed Sotheby's contract on the evidence link at crimeandcanvaspodcast.com, and it clearly proves the date and time period we're claiming. This authentication was unique because as Mr. Koch explained to my mother, and Sotheby's later confirmed, that Jane Peterson's husband was an attorney for Kodak paper, and Kodak paper is mentioned in the handwritten notes. The attorney contracted with Kodak for them to make special, unique paper exclusively for Jane's work, which is why Sotheby's could authenticate it without needing the traditional provenance chain.

And why they couldn't authenticate any of the other artwork because the others didn't have that same special uniqueness and needed the provenance. We also have the Sotheby's auction catalog this painting was featured in available on our evidence link on the crimeandcanvaspodcast.com website.

This painting didn't sell at auction, and my mother still has this painting, as far as I know. Moving on to the Jim Castle. This is a print, and it probably carries the most personally interesting and memorable story of all the pieces.

Over the years, the story my mother would recount most vividly was about this very print. It is torn and stained and frankly looks like garbage. I even told her once, "Mom, just throw it away!" But she insisted, "No, this piece is the most important and valuable of all the pieces I got from him." She said it's the only one he gave her, not sold, and his hands were visibly shaking when he handed it to her.

It was tucked away in a folder inside of an envelope. I have starred at this print a lot over the years, trying to understand its significance, thinking, "There is no way this is worth more than the van Gogh!" Boy, was I wrong. And in Episode Seven, we will discover why this is. Jim Cassel is even mentioned twice in Mr. Koch's handwritten notes with my mother.

Next, we will talk about the Kees Van Dongen. This is a beautiful ink on paper, a watercolor in a sepia tone, or possibly a sepia ink wash drawing. It's depicting a lady in a hat. 

Next is the Pablo Picasso's. Mr. Koch sold my mother four paintings or drawings by this renowned artist. Unfortunately, I only have photographs of three of them. The fourth piece was a drawing of a man and a beast. My mother was not fond of the beast, and she quickly sold it off at the flea market. Years later, the story was heard that the man who bought it went on to sell that very drawing at Sotheby's for over $150,000. This would have been sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s. According to the handwritten notes from these transactions, these Picasso pieces were formerly part of the collection of H. Leed and were purchased from a Marlborough House Gallery in London. The notes even specify the 1953 auction catalog numbers 22, 28, 33, and 41. 

Among the pieces I saw and photographed are:

• A 1921 pencil drawing. It's a pencil drawing of a man, and it has a name written on it in another language. 
• A 1936 drawing which is in the Femme Assise style. Not quite sure how to say that. That style is mentioned in the notes, and that is the style of the drawing. It says again, it originated from the Marlborough House Gallery in London.
• The 1937 painting, I determined this to be a depiction of the village of Martigues, also appears to be cut as if from a frame. I created a detailed booklet specifically on this painting, outlining my findings. You can view it and explore my research by visiting crimeandcanvaspodcast.com and clicking the evidence link in the top navigation.

Okay, now let's turn to the Vincent van Gogh. We're going to dive a bit more in-depth into this painting and for obvious reasons. This isn't just any piece of art; it's potentially the most valuable, a true lost treasure that holds immense significance to our story. I'm sure Morocco would love to know of this painting. And proving its reality is the key to unlocking it all. I've created a detailed booklet for this painting, available on our evidence link on the crimeandcanvaspodcast.com website, where you can view it and look over my research as I discuss it here. 

The Van Gogh painting is titled "The Moroccan," a detail we know from the notes. I believe the subject is Moulay-Hassan I, the last Sultan of Morocco, and was alive during Van Gogh's active painting career. He was born in 1831, ascended to the throne in 1873, and died in 1894, which was just a couple years after Van Gogh's own death. aligning perfectly with the timeline. the painting also shows clear signs of having been cut from its frame. This method of removal, where a painting is physically cut, is something we've observed in several of the pieces, like the Jane Peterson and Picasso paintings. It raises critical questions. Why are these artworks cut this way?
Was it, as Koch suggested for the damage, a frantic act to save them quickly from a devastating fire? Perhaps the frames were attached to walls, and couldn't just grab them in their frame and run out? Or does it point to something else entirely? that we discover and discuss in Episode Eight.

Let's consider the reasons Vincent van Gogh could have painted this sultan. 

• Van Gogh's most active painting period was from 1880 to 1890. During this time, the sultan would have been 49 to 59 years old, an age that matches the man in the painting. 
• The man in the painting bares a strong resemblance to images found online of Moulay-Hassan I. 
• Van Gogh was known to enjoy painting a night sky in the background. 
• The painting's style appears to be significantly inspired by Eugène Delacroix, who also famously painted a prior Sultan of Morocco in 1845. Van Gogh was deeply influenced by Delacroix.

According to Eugene Delacroix's Wikipedia page, Théo van Rysselberghe, was also influenced by Delacroix. Rysselberghe not only painted Moroccan subjects, but even created a drawing of the same Sultan of Morocco, Moulay-Hassan I, in 1887.

Crucially, two direct quotes from Rysselberghe's Wikipedia page state, "In December 1887 he was invited together with Edmond Picard to accompany a Belgian economic delegation to Meknès, Morocco. During these three months, he made many color pencil sketches. He also drew a portrait of the Sultan." And in Paris, "he had a meeting with Theo van Gogh and managed thus to invite Vincent van Gogh to the next exhibition in Brussels." That is where Van Gogh sold his one and only painting that he sold to Anne Boch.  

In the booklet on the evidence link at crimeandcanvaspodcast.com website, you'll find a painting by Rysselberghe titled Maria Seth at the Harmonium from 1891. This painting has remarkably similar color tones, purples and burgundies to the van Gogh painting of the Sultan of Morocco.

It even features curtains with the exact same colors used in our van Gogh painting. This suggests van Gogh could have borrowed paint from Rysselbergheg, further connecting these two artists and validating the paintings' context. I do believe this theory has been used to solve other van Gogh's paintings where he has borrowed paint, whether it was from Rysselberghe or another artist I don't recall.

This Vincent van Gogh painting was sold by Mr. Koch to my mother, Mary, in 1992. Its significance is underscored by its multiple mentions in the handwritten notes from Koch's visits with Mary. We also know this painting has undergone restoration work at some point, visible under a black light. One would naturally think such an investment in restoration would only be made for a painting of significant value.

As you'll remember, some of this artwork arrived with damage, which Koch told my mother was from being saved from a fire at an art storage warehouse.  That fire, its timing, and what it means for this case is a crucial mystery we'll explore in depth in Episode Six. What it solves is astounding.

Through my mother's story, I've had the unexpected privilege of delving into the lives and works of many master artists, including this incredible van Gogh painting. But even amidst that beauty, the stark reality of the deception and the immense injustice tied to these very pieces is undeniable. And that injustice is why I stand. This is not what our country was founded on. No one should wield the power to silence truth, to dictate whose voice matters. That's why I'm here talking to you. This podcast is born from that very defiance.

I might never claim a courtroom victory, but those who follow this story know I won't give up. I refuse complicity. Mary's story is more than stolen art. It's about systemic corruption, powerful accountability, and the very foundation of justice. Your decision to listen, to share, to engage is how we bypass the silence.

It's how we ensure the story is heard in full by the public. We're building a community for unheard voices. In our next episode, episode three, we'll dive into the notes connection, exploring the handwritten notes from Frederick Koch's visits with my mother and how those seemingly simple details reveal crucial links.

For documented evidence, visit theartworkstory.com and sign up for my newsletters. To join a wider movement for truth, visit UHV.News, Unheard Voices, where every voice matters, and submit your story.

Thank you for joining me on the crimeandcanvaspodcast.com. This is Suzanne Kenney. I'm grateful for your time and your willingness to hear this story. Let's always remember, the truth is still the truth, even if no one believes it.