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A longtime art dealer who once ran a gallery on the Upper West Side has been charged with defrauding clients and investors of more than $2 million in art-related schemes.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced Thursday that Catherine Dail, who specializes in 19th- and 20th-century American artwork, is accused of misappropriating funds connected to paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis, and others. Bloomberg was first to report the case.
According to the indictment, Dail allegedly sold several works entrusted to her—including three by Davis and one by O’Keeffe—but failed to remit proceeds to her clients. She also allegedly used investor funds for personal expenses and to repay other victims, prosecutors said.
Dail previously operated a gallery on the Upper West Side, located on the 12th floor at 40 West 86th Street, before relocating her business to Los Angeles in 2021, according to Bloomberg. It looks like she was sued not too long after arriving to California.
According to her LinkedIN profile, Dail attended Dartmouth College and New York University.
Prosecutors said two clients had given Dail the O’Keeffe and Davis paintings in December 2019, expecting her to sell them and return the proceeds. Though she sold the Davis pieces by 2021, she allegedly continued to tell her clients as late as 2024 that she was still seeking buyers. The O’Keeffe work, sold in 2020, was used instead to repay a $250,000 loan from another victim who believed they were investing in a John Singer Sargent painting Dail never acquired.
If convicted on the most serious charge, Dail faces up to 20 years in prison.
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