[MSN] Portrait paints strange odyssey

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Portrait paints strange odyssey
Questions remain of picture’s trip from University Club to eBay and back

George Rogers’ smiling face is on its way back to South Carolina’s 1980 Heisman Trophy winner. What exactly it is, and how it vanished, remains a mystery.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department has recovered a portrait of Rogers stolen from the clubhouse of the University Club at Cobblestone Park in Blythewood, department spokesman Lt. Chris Cowan said.

The theft, according to a department incident report dated Sept. 27, was discovered after Rogers told officers he saw his painting (for sale) on eBay with an asking pride of $18,000. In the report, Rogers lists the value of the item at $20,000.

Questions remain, however, as to what exactly the painting or print is, and how it wound up in North Carolina, where it was recovered.

Rogers reported the theft from the University Club, where the portrait was on display after Rogers loaned it to the club. Rogers, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, said in the report he had “tried to talk” to University Club officials about the theft and “they had no answers for him.”

Keith Goodacre, director of golf for the University Club, declined comment Wednesday.

So what exactly was stolen?

In the report, Rogers refers to the item as an oil painting. The eBay listing described it as “(the) 1980 Heisman Trophy winner oil painting given with the Heisman Trophy. You must win the Heisman Trophy to recive (sic) the oil painting by T. McDonald(,) artist.”

But Timothy Henning, associate director for the Heisman Trophy Trust in New York City, said the artwork did not come from his organization.

“We make two trophies (each year), one for the player and one for his school,” Henning said. “We do one painting, which hangs on the wall of the Downtown Athletic Club,” which is no longer in operation.

Henning said the Heisman Trust in December presented Rogers with an oil painting commemorating the 25th anniversary of his Heisman season. That painting was an action pose, not a portrait, he said. The eBay item was a posed piece.

“It’s possible George might’ve gotten a replica of the original oil painting, but I have no listing of that,” Henning said.

Cowan said no charges have been filed and the case remains under investigation.

Reach Senior Writer Bob Gillespie at (803) 771-8304.

http://www.thestate.com/