WASHINGTON - It had the makings of a great tale: A long-forgotten painting by a famous French artist was found in a West Virginia flea market.

The story behind it was also interesting. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was at lunch in Paris in 1879 with his girlfriend. They were overlooking the river Seine. He grabbed a napkin and used it to paint something for her.

The painting is called "On the Shore of the Seine." It was bought for $7 in a box filled with junk. It was going to be sold at an auction.

The mystery began after the buyer, Marcia Fuqua, came to The Potomack Co. auction house. Owner Elizabeth Wainstein confirmed that the painting was real. It was first sold in 1926 in Paris. It was valued at $100,000.

The artwork was no bigger than a paperback. Even so, people from all over the world were interested in making a bid. It was a Renoir, after all. Then suddenly, Wainstein called off the auction.

A Washington Post reporter got curious about the painting. He found an entry for the work in a Baltimore Museum of Art catalog. Museum officials were surprised to learn it had once hung in their galleries. They were even more shocked when they discovered that the painting had been stolen in 1951.

Painting Seized, Battle Starts

The FBI seized the painting. That started a legal battle over who owned the Renoir. Its value had dropped to $22,000 because of the fight.

Now it is up to a judge to decide who owns the painting on a napkin.

"We couldn't have made it up any better," Wainstein said. Claims are due by Tuesday. The Baltimore Museum of Art is expected to make a case for ownership.

The 1926 owner was Saidie May. She was a wealthy and generous Baltimore art collector. May donated hundreds of pieces to the museum.

The Renoir was being loaned to the museum when it was stolen. But the painting was not logged on a worldwide list for missing and stolen art. This just added to the mystery.

May died in 1951, the year of the theft. She left nearly all her artworks to the museum. The death seems to have only added to the painting's confusing history.

There are other twists. An insurance company says that it really owns the painting because it paid a claim of $2,500 on it after the theft. But the company also said it will hand over the work to the museum.

Amalie Ascher is a retired woman who is a great-niece of May. She could also be a possible owner of the Renoir. But she doesn't think so.

Ascher remembers having to visit her great-aunt twice a year. She does not think much of the painting.

"It's a very small, insignificant painting," she said. "It's on a napkin."

Finders Keepers?

Fuqua says she found the painting at a flea market in West Virginia. She insists that she is entitled to it.

But her story is being looked at closely. The Washington Post reported that several people say the painting was in her mother's house for years. Fuqua's mother was an art teacher and Fuqua sometimes helped her in the studio.

Fuqua is a former blackjack dealer who now teaches driving in Virginia. She has told the court that she plans to file a claim. She could not be reached for comment.

Wainstein spoke to Fuqua about the painting several months ago and thinks that she will ask for it.

Fuqua demanded the painting's return in December in a letter to the FBI. The government then asked a judge to let it keep the painting until the court decides who really owns it.

For now, it all remains a mystery. At its center is a tiny painting by a legendary artist that was reportedly found in a box of bargains.

"We are investigating," FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said. "We are trying to track back the painting since it was stolen."]]>