Oct. 16, 2007 – The gallery cancels “Masterpieces of Art: Five Centuries of Painting and Sculpture” and “Caravaggio,” which were scheduled to open on October 17 as the gallery's last shows, after London dealer Clovis Whitfield withdraws paintings and sculptures he had loaned for the occasion. Salander had said Caravaggio’s Apollo the Lute Player alone was expected to sell for $100 million, and that that total sales would bring in $750 million. A representative for Whitfield later says that the Lute Player had been loaned for exhibition only, not to be sold. (1), (4)

Oct. 19, 2007 – Salander-O’Reilly is shut down indefinitely by court order, and auction houses are prohibited from moving any art connected to Salander or the gallery. A restraining order is issued to prevent Salander-O’Reilly from dispersing any property, including works that might be in Italy or elsewhere. A representative for the Indianapolis Museum of Art requests the return of Caravaggio’s Sleeping Cupid, which was loaned for the show. An attorney for Salander says his client will probably file for bankruptcy.

Oct. 24, 2007 – The daughters of art collector Alexander W. Pearlman sue for the return of works they consigned to Salander-O’Reilly after the death of their father in 2004. They also seek $1.2 million from the sales of seven pieces, accusing Lawrence Salander of operating a “deliberate scheme” to divert money to pay off other creditors.

Oct. 24, 2007 – Lisette Georges, whose husband Paul Georges was honored by a posthumous 2003 show at Salander-O’Reilly, sues the gallery for the return of six of his paintings that she consigned there between June 2004 and September 2007. The combined value of the art is “not less than $219,000,” according to the claim.

Oct. 26, 2007 – Sotheby’s files a lawsuit claiming Salander-O’Reilly owes the auction house $1.64 million plus interest from a loan arrangement. Two other complaints are filed as well—one by Kraken Investments Ltd. and Golconda Fine Art Ltd., who ask the court for permission to seize a Botticelli painting, Mother and Child, and three other works from the gallery; and another by the Frelinghuysen Morris Foundation, whose attorney asks for a sheriff to collect any of the foundation's works that can be found at the gallery or Salander's home.

Nov. 7, 2007 – The New York State Supreme Court will hold its next hearing on the cases filed against Lawrence Salander and the gallery.

Key to sources: Maine Antique Digest (1), Bloomberg (2), New York Times (3), New York Sun (4), New York Post (5)

Editor's Note: In the original version of “The Salander Chronologies,” published Wednesday, October 13, there were several inaccuracies that were clarified by Earl Davis and his lawyer, Dean Nicyper. In the main chronology and the Earl Davis chronology, it was stated that there was a delay "of several months" between when Davis requested an accounting of his father's works at the gallery in 2005 and when Lawrence Salander provided the accounting; in fact, there was no such delay. In the same entry, it was stated that there was a month between Davis's request that Salander stop selling the works and the request that the dealer return the art, when in fact both requests were made simultaneously. In the Davis Chronology, it was stated that Salander gave Davis 24 post-dated checks in 2007; in fact, Salander gave him the checks in 2006.