No stranger to freak occurrences, internationally acclaimed artist and film director (Freaks Uncensored! A Human Sideshow) Ari Roussimoff, was, thanks to his painterly prominence on eBay, happily reunited with his precious painting, "Dancing Pinheads And Sexy Lady", which was stolen many years ago. Roussimoff’s hauntingly surreal oil painting of circus sideshow and carnival life was recovered, after a mysterious disappearance of almost a decade, via a direct contact through eBay. The artwork disappeared under suspicious circumstances from a Florida art gallery. The artist was living in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands at the time of the theft. In spite of inconclusive leads, no headway was made for nearly 10 years. Over the years there were reports of anonymous and shadowy telephone solicitations made to collectors. The police were not optimistic about a recovery, and after so many years the artist had all but given up hope. In the last few years Roussimoff has been gaining steady popularity among collectors, in part through the dynamic presence of his paintings on eBay. Through this unprecedented exposure of Roussimoff’s paintings, a proprietor of a West Palm Beach, Florida Art and Frame shop, who had unsuspectingly kept the stolen painting for many years, when he saw Roussimoff’s works listed on eBay, emailed for more information on the artist. An undisclosed reward was given, and the “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" was promptly returned. Originally, this work disappeared along with another Roussimoff oil painting, the very spiritually symbolic "Portrait of a Rabbi With Four Eyes,” which has not as yet surfaced (Roussimoff is also quite acclaimed for his moving portrayals of Jewish, Russian and Ukrainian life). The artist and his eBay representative credit the phenomenon of eBay in the successful recovery of the “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" painting. They view eBay as a unprecedented opportunity for independents to reach out in a creative and positive way. “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" is one of a series of Roussimoff paintings, which is a product of the artist’s early fascination with carnivals, sideshows, and the unusual and colorful individuals, who appeared there—an interest which led him to later create the film, Freaks Uncensored!. “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" was painted by Roussimoff in Switzerland in the year 1979. It is a surrealistic and penetrating depiction, with deep undertones of a fond camaraderie, as well as alienation and subliminal sexuality, of a group of old-time circus sideshow performers, dancing with a voluptuous and mysterious lady. The ritual-like dancing is observed by a contemplative circus Fat Man, who sits underneath a framed portrait of the Russian Czar Nicholas. A highly fantastical and individualistic interpretation of life in the circuses of yesteryear, the work has been reproduced in books in Europe and also as a poster reproduction. Other works in Roussimoff’s Sideshow Series of paintings include a monumental work called “Allegory”, which uses a multitude of Sideshow characters to interpret some of the major events of the twentieth century. Also, in the Roussimoff Sideshow Series are representations of Lion-Faced Men, Giants, Bearded Ladies, and Tatooed Men and Women. The painting “Dancing Pinheads” has also been displayed in prominent galleries, such as “Soho’s Eduard Nakhamkin Fine Arts Gallery” and "'Pace University Art Gallery, as well as New York’s esoteric “Nicholas Roerich Museum". “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" also appears in Roussimoff’s critically film Freaks Uncensored! (film reviews New York Times, Village Voice), an in depth documentary about the history of physical human anomalies, which sold out to audiences in New York’s very prestigious film theater and museum. “The Anthology Film Archives.” Ari Roussimoff , a very prolific Russo-European artist, has participated in over 75 exhibitions worldwide, before beginning to work in film as of 1985. “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady" was in negotiations to appear as a record cover in Germany when it disappeared in Florida. Roussimoff paintings are offered on eBay under the seller name of “Tolstoyrus”. So thankful to the eBay experience for the return of the painting, the Roussimoff seller site has put up a listing of a Million Dollar Thank You to eBay, crediting the phenomenonon of the online auction with the fortuitous return of Roussimoff‘s “Dancing Pinheads and Sexy Lady”.