His wife, a well-known philanthropist, left a number of works from the collection to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where her husband was a founding trustee.

WSJ: House Painter Is Accused in Long Island Art Theft

In telling the story, he suggests that two prominent members of the English community in Venice, Philip Rylands, the director of the Peggy Guggenheim collection, and his wife Jane, might have acted against Rudge's best interests, and that they have been secretive.

ECONOMIST: Venice

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection houses a first-class collection of 20th-century art from Dali to Duchamp in a beautiful white palazzo on the Grand Canal, and the Punta della Dogana, a contemporary art centre at the tip of Dorsoduro, contains the modern art collection of Francois Pinault, the CEO of Kering, which owns labels like Gucci and Saint Laurent.

BBC: Living in: Venice