Brazilian Gallery Almeida & Dale Raided in São Paulo Over Disputed Volpi Paintings

On Wednesday, São Paulo police executed a search warrant at Almeida & Dale, one of Brazil's largest galleries, located in the Jardins district. The raid by the São Paulo State Department of Criminal Investigations (Deic) centered on three paintings by modernist master Alfredo Volpi, valued at approximately R$6.4 million (£887,460). Volpi's estate alleges gallery founder Carlos Dale brokered the sale of the works—Bandeirinhas Estruturadas com Mastro no. 1996, Cinetico/Mosaicos, and Fachadas- no 1999—in 2006 without authorization, reporting them stolen in 2008. The gallery maintains it acted in good faith, never owned the paintings, and merely facilitated a transaction prior to any judicial investigation. No artworks were confiscated during the operation, though a laptop was seized. Almeida & Dale stated it is cooperating fully with authorities and that annulment proceedings are underway to address the dispute. The gallery has expanded aggressively in recent years, acquiring Millan Gallery and opening locations in Goiânia, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and São Paulo, with plans for a Paris outpost in 2027 and New York thereafter. Alfredo Volpi, a preeminent Brazilian modernist, died in 1988.