Artist sues hotel over missing portfolio

Local artist Douglas Rankin sued the Saipan World Resort at the Superior Court Friday over his missing collection of concept drawings and some print artwork.

Rankin filed a civil action against World Corp. and still unnamed individuals who were allegedly responsible for the loss of the art collections.

A resident of Saipan since 1966, Rankin has made a distinction by inventing an art form now known worldwide as banana painting. Besides earning recognition in Pacific and Asian magazines, Rankin’s artworks also include Christmas bird ornaments that were selected to adorn the official White House Christmas tree. Rankin also drew the first CNMI emblem depicting the mwarmwar around the Latte stone.

Rankin’s lawyer, Lillian A. Tenorio, accused World Resort and its agents of negligence in handling Rankin’s concept sketches and sample artworks.

Tenorio said the World Resort, through employee Ben Tebit, approached Rankin last February regarding the purchase of several banana prints to adorn newly decorated guestrooms at the hotel. Tenorio said Rankin left the concept sketches and artwork with the hotel for review and sale, at the request of Tebit and another hotel employee, Jay Lim.

“The portfolio was of particular importance to Mr. Rankin. Due to his ongoing battle with cancer, his ability to continue painting has been impaired,” Tenorio said in the complaint.

“The portfolio thus remains not only as a representative sample of his work, but, along with the concept sketches, constitutes the only record of the history of his work: a diary of sorts that includes diagrams on each painting’s creation; sketches of work previously completed; and a painstaking chronology of his creations,” she added.

Tenorio said the hotel, through Tebit and Lim, promised to preserve and safeguard the artworks during its selection process, and to return them to Rankin as soon as it had selected three banana paintings for purchase.

Ranking heard nothing from the hotel for several weeks, prompting him to telephone the establishment to inquire about his artworks. The hotel through Tebit and Lim, allegedly told him that it could not have access to the artworks because they were locked inside the presidential office suit and that those who had access to the suite were in Japan.

Tenorio said the hotel refused to return Rankin’s artworks despite repeated demands. The attorney said the World Resort even denied Rankin access to the artworks on several occasions when the artist went to the hotel to retrieve them.

“The portfolio and the concept sketches represented a collection of Mr. Rankin’s life work, possessing thereby, in addition to their actual value, considerable intrinsic value,” Tenorio said.

She said the hotel was grossly negligent in providing due care to the artworks and should be held liable for the highest punitive damages allowed by CNMI law, besides other unspecified amount of damages.