Feds spend money hunting, confiscating taxpayer-funded art

Government officials are spending taxpayer dollars to hunt down and confiscate artwork that was funded by New Deal programs.

Late last month, special agents from the General Service Administration's office of inspector general located an etching that a private citizen had put up for sale on eBay and asked that the piece of art be removed from the website while they verified its authenticity.

The etching was funded by the Works Progress Administration, a Depression-era program that paid artists to produce pieces for the government.

Although the unidentified owner of the etching had purchased it legally at an estate sale, GSA agents took the painting into custody and announced Friday their intention to find a place for the artwork in a government facility.

The recovery was the latest in an ongoing effort to track down taxpayer-funded art that has been lost or stolen.

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