I was first exposed to the world of international art intrigue in 1996. Leaving Kiev, Ukraine’s Boryspil airport for what would probably turn out to be the last time, I carried with me a recently acquired wife, an even more recently born daughter, and a scattering of possessions as I prepared to return home to the United States after three years of doing journalism.

At least at that time, the main terminal for departing flights out of Kiev was a hectic, ramshackle place in which even a smooth passage through the local outgoing customs inspectors could prove an annoying experience. This petty annoyance level suddenly threatened to get a whole lot less petty when an x-ray of one of my pieces of luggage revealed the presence of a canvas stretched over a frame. Continue reading →