Art From a Chicago Designer Disappears FedEx Questioned

Art has disappeared, and FedEx is being questioned about its whereabouts. Alvia Baker, the mother of Chicago artist Derrick Joshua Beard, lost her son to cancer in 2018, but FedEx lost his artwork this past October. It has been six months and has not resurfaced, according to Channel 5 News on April 27, 2021.

FedEx, the guru of shipping, lost precious art created by Beard before he passed away, and his mother is looking for his pieces and answers. She has questioned the shipping company about the paintings, but FedEx has failed to comply with a satisfactory explanation.

Baker said they have declined to respond to her questions concerning the misplaced items. Furthermore, they have not even offered a hand to find them. Baker told NBC 5 Responds:

I’ve had many sleepless nights saying, who God, who’s gonna shed some light on this situation..

She spent a total of $1,100 to have four big paintings shipped to her home from a FedEx in Oak Lawn. The boxes were huge; they weighed almost 70 pounds. She continues by saying that she purchased the damaged shipment insurance. Despite all she had done, she only received two of the four pieces.

The boxes are almost as tall as I am, and I am over five feet. How do you lose material that large?

Baker said she had the artwork appraised, and the value of the two missing pieces alone is greater than $29,000. However, she explained it is not about the money; the pieces are priceless to her now that her son is gone.

So where is it? This is the question that has been presented to FedEx since last October when the pieces mysteriously disappeared. However, they still have not fully cooperated or given Baker an answer.

FedEx has also refused to respond to multiple questions from NBC. There is no indication that an internal and thorough investigation was done. Have any employees been questioned? Have they viewed any footage from security cameras?

Precious artwork can not be found, and FedEx has deemed the investigation of the missing pieces as “closed.” Baker continues to search for answers, and she is hopeful that her story being highlighted on NBC will help her find the paintings and bring this nightmare to an end.

Written by Sharri Rogers
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

NBC 5 Chicago: Nearly $30K Worth of Art From a Chicago Artist Goes Missing in Shipping Mystery; by Lisa Parker

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Steven Miller’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Tomas Del Coro’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License