Just a Chap Passing Through...The Secret World of Fine Art Insurance

The Museums -- The Collectors -- The Dealers -- The Artists -- The Felons -- The Fuzz -- The Feds -- And The Infamous Insurance Companies "For A Chap merely Passing Through, Bill Smith earned the respect, admiration and confidence of museum directors, curators, collectors and artists, as well as Scotland Yard, the FBI and Interpol, for his adjudicative talents, honed to skills by the Jesuits, brilliantly narrated here with his Celtic wit and charm." James B. Byrnes, Director Emeritus, the New Orleans Museum of Art. "He was the most famous adjuster in his field, a wonderful guy, very helpful to people all the time." Steven Weil, scholar emeritus, the Smithsonian Institution. "...Intimately chronicles the humor, grace and compelling humanity of this heretofore unsung hero. His manners, impeccable; his wit. deadly; his eloquence, better than the Blarney Stone; his knowledge of the classics, profound; his canniness, slyer than any fox. The sum; Bill Smith, a rare true gentleman, suavely at home in the infinitely adjustable world of international art theft, quiet collaborator with Interpol and the police and hero of museums, galleries and collectors. Knowing him was like having James Bond for a friend." Vaughn Glasgow, author: The Social History of the American Alligator "He was one of the few people who understood this whole game. There were a handful of us out there who really did this whole thing, all based on the love of the art. He was one of the good guys." Robert Volpe, retired NYPD detective, author: Art Cop