Prestigious galleries quizzed over purchases of child abuser’s art works

Some of the nation’s most prestigious art galleries are being quizzed over artworks acquired from a wealthy child abuser who shed assets to prevent his victim accessing his fortune.

A portrait of Jessie Robertson (c 1849) by Thomas Bock, purchased by the National Portrait Gallery from John Wayne Millwood in 2013.

Some of the nation’s most prestigious art galleries are being questioned about artworks they acquired from a wealthy child abuser who shed assets to prevent his victim accessing his fortune.

The National Gallery of Australia, National Portrait Gallery and Launceston’s Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery have all received requests for information from forensic asset-hunters ­Sheahan Lock Partners.

Sheahan Lock, trustee of the bankruptcy estate of convicted child abuser and former colonial art collector John Wayne Millwood, is trying to recoup millions in assets Millwood shed before ­declaring bankruptcy in 2022.

John Wayne Millwood after pleading guilty to maintaining a sexual relationship with a minor in the Supreme Court in Hobart.

If successful, any proceeds would overwhelmingly flow to Millwood’s victim-survivor – abused by him over five years in the 1980s – who has so far not ­received a cent of a record $5.3m court-awarded compensation payment.

The Weekend Australian has confirmed the NGA and NPG have acquired works from Millwood, but both insist these acquisitions occurred before he was charged with child sex abuse ­offences in 2015.

QVMAG said no works in its collection were acquired from Millwood or from a list of associates provided by Sheahan Lock.

Oliver Sheahan, of Sheahan Lock, confirmed the line of ­inquiry, as the firm also seeks to claw back millions of dollars in property and shares divested by Millwood and associated entities.

“We are aware that Millwood had an extensive art collection and our investigations into the whereabouts of that collection are ongoing,” Mr Sheahan said.

“We have made inquiries of a number of third parties, including the NGA, NPA and QVMAG.”

A portrait of Hobart silversmith David Barclay by Thomas Bock, believed to be one of nine works the NGA purchased from John Wayne Millwood in 2009.

A portrait of Rev William Bedford Jnr (c 1846) by Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, purchased by the NPG from John Wayne Millwood in 2013.

The survivor of Millwood’s abuse, who for legal reasons can be referred to only as ZAB, urged anyone with knowledge of what happened to his abuser’s art collection to contact Sheahan Lock.

“Those who have assisted Millwood in hiding or storing art works and antiques (should be aware that this) is a criminal ­offence with up to five years ­imprisonment,” said ZAB.

“Now is the right time to contact Sheahan Lock and assist with those artworks being recovered.”

ZAB said he understood Millwood had advised having sold at least one art work to QVMAG, run by Launceston City Council.

Launceston acting mayor Matthew Garwood rejected this. “No items in QVMAG’s collection … have been donated or sold to QVMAG by Millwood or the list of associates provided by the trustees,” Mr Garwood said.

The NGA required Sheahan Lock to submit a Freedom of ­Information request in order to obtain details about acquisitions from Millwood.

It is also understood to be ­insisting on clearing the release of the information via affected third parties – an extremely unhelpful move for the trustee.

An NGA spokeswoman, however, insisted the gallery was “fully co-operating” and processing the FOI request.