$900k painting lost

A New York man has lost a painting worth $900,000 after going on a drinking bender.

Court papers have revealed James Haggerty lost the Jean Baptiste Camille Corot masterpiece at the city's Mark Hotel, where he was supposed to show it to a potential buyer.

The forgetful art handler had been hired by co-owners Kristyn Trudgeon and Tom Doyle to take the painting to the hotel to allow London gallery owner Offer Waterman the chance to view it.

While he left the portrait at the front desk for the duration of his time at the hotel, James returned home at 2.30am to discover he had somehow misplaced it.

Kristyn said: "I think he's a complete fumbling idiot. He's just a complete a**hole."