The heirs to the Bic pen fortune are fighting to regain possession of a 15th-century Fra Angelico masterpiece they claim was stolen two decades ago by the family chauffeur, according to court filings obtained by The Independent.
The 500-year-old painting was then “funneled into the art market through a series of illegal and reckless transactions,” and eventually auctioned off for $5.4 million to a South American billionaire who has since refused to return it, say Gonzalve, Charles and Guillaume Bich, whose grandfather, Baron Marcel Bich, founded the ballpoint pen, razor and disposable lighter empire.
At the centre of the saga is “Saint Sixtus,” a tempera-on-panel piece circa 1454 that is believed to be among the last works Fra Angelico created. The painting originally hung in Bruno Bich’s Upper East Side apartment until 2006, when it vanished. The complaint alleges that the family’s driver, Roy Morrow, stole the work either when it was displayed at 960 Fifth Avenue or when the Bich family moved to a new apartment at 935 Fifth Avenue.
Attorney Luke Nikas, representing the Bich sons, declined to comment on the record. A source with knowledge of the case says the Bich family uncovered the painting’s whereabouts via extensive document analysis and then demanded it back, which is when the statute of limitations began tolling. Conversely, David Bamberger, an attorney for Feigen’s estate, said the suit is barred by the statute of limitations and “will, therefore, be defended vigorously.”
On December 6, 1972, Marcel Bich purchased “Saint Sixtus” for £130,000 at Sotheby’s “Important Old Master Paintings” sale. After Marcel’s death in 1994, his son Bruno inherited the painting and placed it in trust for his three sons. Bruno died in 2021 without knowing the fate of the work or its location.
