A Lyft driver took off with a work by Spanish Baroque painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo when a distracted gallerist transporting it got out of the car at his destination in Miami. He is now calling on the art world to boycott the ride-sharing company.
Rodrigo Salomon of the Salomon Arts Gallery was curating a booth for gallerist Dimitry Shchukin at Art Miami and had brought a truck full of works to exhibit. After a long day unloading the works to set up the booth on December 3, Shchukin called a Lyft for him and his wife, Gigi.
“We had only one day to set up the booth, so we were exhausted,” Salomon said over the phone. “We have some paintings that we are not going to put in the show because we brought a lot of extra paintings, which, in case you sell, you replace them.”
The 17th-century painting, Madonna with Child, was intended to be handed over to a client who was buying it so Salomon didn’t want to leave it in the truck. Since it was small, measuring just 17 by 14 inches, he decided to take it back with him in a ride-share car to the Westover Arms Hotel. The client, he said, was going to pick up the painting at the hotel and negotiate other details with the sellers, such as having it authenticated by an expert in Spain.
Bartolome Esteban Murillo’s painting, Madonna with Child, with its buyer, Joe Fernandez. Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Salomon.
The Lyft driver opened the trunk and Salomon and his wife immediately got into the car with the painting, wrapped in silver bubble wrap. Salomon was distracted with a phone call during his ride and when he got out of the car at the hotel, he said the driver sped off.
“She just took off! What do you do, you know?” Salomon said. “Immediately, I followed up with Lyft. We were desperately calling this number that was supposedly the number of the driver but no answer. For 24 hours, we didn’t hear anything!”
Salomon and Shchukin provided screenshots of their communication with Lyft in which the driver, identified only as Yelnay, seemingly acknowledged that the painting was missing. “I am sorry to hear that you have forgotten your painting in your Lyft ride. Thanks for letting us know,” one of the messages reads.
It has now been four days, and the gallerists say they have heard nothing further about recovering the work, estimated to be worth between $500,000 and $1 million. They have since filed a police report and spoken with FBI agents about the situation.
“Nobody at Lyft is making an effort to respond to us so we told them we’re going to take further actions against the driver and of course Lyft,” Salomon said. “We also have hired a lawyer, who has already contacted a private detective.”
Artnet News has called a number through Lyft that should reach the driver but was not able to establish contact.
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