Brown Named Arts Building for Family Tied to Horse Murder, Enviro Crime, Now, Alleged Art Theft
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
L-R Sloan Lindemann Barrett PHOTO: Promotional, New York Times Story on George, Jr.,Brown's new Performing Arts Center Named for the Lindemann family PHOTO: GoLocal
The late George Lindemann made his wealth in contact lenses, mobile phones, and the energy industry. It was the energy company that made news in Rhode Island and nationally.
The most recent uproar is tied to Lindemann's daughter and her husband.
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Alleged Stolen Art
As The Art Newspaper reports, "A photoshoot of a $42M San Francisco mansion, dubbed the 'most beautiful house in America,' appears to have helped locate a number of ancient Khmer sculptures that the Cambodian government says match those looted years ago from one of the nation’s sacred sites."
The owners of the property are the glamour couple lawyer Sloan Lindemann Barnett, the daughter of George Lindemann, and her husband, Roger Barnett. She is a graduate of Brown.
The controversy all started with the bragger piece for Architectural Digest.
"One of the shots included in the Architectural Digest spread in January 2021 shows a two-story central courtyard populated by towering palms and, on one side, several empty plinths. However, it appeared the photograph had been doctored after reporters for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) discovered another version of the image online, which shows several stone artifacts of demon and god heads standing on the same plinths," adds the publication.
"According to the ICIJ, experts confirmed that the sculptures had indeed been airbrushed from the magazine photograph, though it is not clear by whom and why. Erin Kaplan, a spokesperson for Architectural Digest, told the ICIJ that the magazine published the image without the relics because of 'unresolved publication rights around select artworks,'" it reports.
Now you see them, now you don’t: The incredible story of Cambodian relics the government says may be stolen — and how they vanished from an Architectural Digest photo spread. https://t.co/fr87sJkx8c pic.twitter.com/B53QkvdOIF
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 15, 2022
Mercury Contamination in Pawtucket
GoLocal had previously reported on the now deceased patriarch of the family, George Lindemann, who headed the energy company Southern Union Group -- which was fined $18 million by a Rhode Island jury for a mercury spill in Pawtucket. That penalty was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, and ultimately, his company was only penalized $500,000 by federal court judge Will Smith.
Ironically, George's daughter Sloan, now accused of being in possession of stolen antiquities, is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Green Goes with Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet. She has been a regular on Fox, NBC's Today Show, and the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Brown Graduate George Jr. Convicted of Killing His Show Horse
In 1996, the Lindemanns' son made global news for hiring a hitman to kill his show horse. George, Jr. is also a Brown grad.
The Sun-Sentinal reported, "George Lindemann Jr., an heir to one of Palm Beach County's wealthiest families, faces a 33-month sentence in federal prison for ordering a hit on his showjumping horse in 1990."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Cox said at the time of the trial the horse killing was carried out so Lindemann could save face.
"He had the horse killed because the horse made him look bad. He found it easier to have the horse killed than to admit to those in the horsey set that he had made a mistake in buying the horse," Cox said, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The New York Times wrote, "Judge [George] Marovich called the pair's acts 'despicable and reprehensible' and said he wanted the sentences to send a message to the country club and 'horsy set.'"
Lindemann's prison term was the stiffest to date, resulting from a government inquiry of what prosecutors called the equestrian world's "dirty little secret"- the killing of horses for insurance money.
Brown has refused to disclose the cost of the performing arts center and told GoLocal previously they were aware of George Jr.'s horse killing when they sold the naming rights to the performing arts center.
"Brown has detailed policies and practices in place to guide our work with donors, including gift acceptance and naming policies. Among the provisions, our policies make clear that acceptance of a gift does not imply or mean that the University endorses or approves of a donor’s views, opinions, businesses or activities. Those policies and practices guided our decision-making, and we accepted this gift with full confidence," said Brian Clark, Associate Vice President for News and Editorial Development in a statement to GoLocal in May.
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