The Black Apple

When I bought The Black Apple in 1980, I had a policy of collecting only living artists, so when RE died in 1992, I decided to sell it. But I missed the painting a lot and as I hadn't kept rigidly to my principle over the years, I decided eventually that I should try to reclaim it.  I couldn't remember who had purchased the picture, but a short Facebook posting brought a reply from an old friend, and he wanted to hang on to it. A year or so later, he was short of money and I made an offer, which he accepted very quickly. We were both pleased: he had the cash and I had the pleasure of welcoming back that rather strange image to its rightful home.