Local Artist Says Walmart Selling Her Painting Without Permission
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local artist is boiling mad because she says Walmart was selling one of her paintings without her permission.
Maria DeSimone Prascak is an artist who finds inspiration everywhere.
The bunnies in her yard on the South Side Slopes inspired to her make a series of bunny paintings and sell them on the website Etsy.com.
But Monday morning, she got a message from a woman in Australia who said Walmart is selling her bunny picture on its website.
"I went to the Walmart website and sure enough," said DeSimone Prascak. "I could have ordered my little bunny for a $104."
"They stole my bunny, so I was like oh my gosh, then my blood started boiling," she added.
She doesn't think Walmart is a thief, but she does think someone stole the image off the Etsy website and it found its way to the manufacturer.
She actually signed the original, but on the Walmart site, that appears to be gone.
She also believes she's not alone.
"I recognized three other people's work from Etsy," said DeSimone Prascak.
If you go to the Walmart website now, the bunny picture and other prints under the same brand name are all listed as out of stock.
A spokesperson from Walmart says they're looking into this immediately and thanked KDKA-TV for bringing it to their attention.
"I'm sure people who purchased this assumed the artist is making money, that they approved that. That's not the case," said DeSimone Prascak.
She now wonders how much money Walmart has made off what she claims to be her bunny.
"Maybe Walmart could be audited and any money that Walmart has made from all of the artists artwork can be forwarded to the artist," she suggests.
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