For years, Toronto artist Dubi Arie and businessman Simon Schreiber enjoyed a close friendship and a shared passion for art.
Their friendship became a business relationship four years ago, when Mr. Arie enlisted Mr. Schreiber's help to market his most celebrated work, a giant mural called The Mission, which depicts 4,000 years of Jewish history from Abraham to the creation of the state of Israel.
The painting is about 12 metres long and two metres high, and took Mr. Arie seven years to create. It has been shown across North America and is on display at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Mich., a suburb of Detroit.
Mr. Schreiber spent two years trying to sell the work on behalf of his friend before offering to buy it himself for $1.6-million. The deal fell apart last year, amid allegations of breach of contract and "unconscionable" behaviour.
Today, the friendship is in ruins, and Mr. Arie is suing Mr. Schreiber for $2-million.
Mr. Arie, 66, declined comment, and his lawyer, Scott Maidment, would say only that the case is "difficult" for the artist and his family. According to documents filed in court, Mr. Arie needed money from the painting because he faced financial difficulties.
Mr. Schreiber, 58, denies any wronging and is contemplating a countersuit. He insisted through his lawyer that he feels somewhat betrayed by Mr. Arie.
"Mr. Schreiber was a big supporter of Mr. Arie's in terms of trying to help him and his family and also support their painting and getting it placed," said Toronto lawyer Elliot Birnboim. "He feels as though he has been a very good friend to this fellow."
It's not clear exactly when the two men met. Mr. Arie was born in Poland and spent the first years of his life with his mother avoiding capture by the Nazis.
They immigrated to Israel in 1948, and Mr. Arie spent years studying art, winning several awards along the way. He also served in the Israeli army as a paratrooper. During the Six-Day War in 1967, he felt the inspiration that eventually led to The Mission. Mr. Arie immigrated to Canada in 1974 with his wife, Raya, and launched his artistic career.
In court filings, Mr. Arie says his goal as an artist "is to inspire and teach future generations about the history and meaning of the Jewish people's struggle for survival."
He began The Mission in 1980 and finished it in 1987. The piece is the culmination of his life's work, he said in documents filed in court. "It is a unique masterpiece."
Mr. Arie spent the next decade looking for a buyer who was prepared to acquire the painting and donate it to a suitable museum so that it could be put on permanent display. He showed it at galleries across the United States and Canada, including an appearance at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in 1998 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Israel's independence.
In 2002, Mr. Schreiber suggested that he become Mr. Arie's agent to help market the painting, court documents allege. By then, the two were good friends, and Mr. Schreiber, a developer, had taken a keen interest in Mr. Arie's work.
In 2003, the two men negotiated a deal to display the work at the Holocaust Memorial Center for five years, giving them time to find a buyer who would donate it to the centre.
After two years of fruitless effort, Mr. Schreiber offered to buy the painting for $1.62-million, to be paid in instalments over 10 years. He made the first payment of $35,000 on Aug. 2, 2004, but allegedly failed to make the next one, due in January, 2005.
Instead, he paid a portion of the instalment and promised the remainder later, according to court filings.
Six months later, he told Mr. Arie that "due to more pressing personal and business matters" he had decided not to acquire the painting, according to allegations filed in court.
However, he promised to help find a buyer and he offered to buy a $100,000 piece from Mr. Arie. Court documents say he promised to pay the full amount quickly, "given Arie's difficult financial situation."
Mr. Arie balked and demanded to be paid in full for The Mission, plus interest.
When Mr. Schreiber refused, Mr. Arie sued and put a lien for $1.6-million on his former friend's home.
Mr. Schreiber hit back legally, filing a motion to throw out some of the claims in Mr. Arie's lawsuit. The move was largely successful, but Mr. Arie is not backing down. He plans to amend his suit and carry on.
"It's not finished, no," said Mrs. Arie in a brief interview from the couple's home in Toronto.
When asked how they are coping, she replied: "Surviving. It happens, you know. That's what life is all about. One [time]you are up, one time you are down."
Paul Waldie