NE of Bermuda's best loved artists is considering taking legal action against a major local hotel claiming it broke a contract giving him just three weeks to vacate his gallery space.

Desmond Fountain says he was on holiday in Africa when he got 21 days notice from the Fairmont Southampton Princess to move out of his gallery. He said he had to cut his stay short and fly halfway around the world to find a new home for his bronze sculptures.

But the artist says the difficulties he has faced have been a blessing in disguise. He has just opened a new gallery in Hamilton in the Emporium in Front Street -- and seen sales rise by 400 percent.

"I am really happy to be in Hamilton and I have some very good neighbours in the Emporium and I'm delighted to be here,'' he said.

But he added: "I am actually stunned by the off-hand way that their (the hotel) headquarters have dealt with this and it appears to me that the local management may not have any say.'' Mr. Fountain said that he was aware of work being carried out at the Princess, but had not been given a date to vacate the Mezzanine floor before his departure despite repeatedly asking for one.

And he says that he remains unsure whether he will still have a gallery in the hotel when the upgrading work is complete.

He said: "I look forward to hearing if they are closing my gallery down.

There have been so many stories.'' He added: "We had a meeting earlier in the year and they said they were doing that floor to renovate it and create a spa. At the time I said I hoped they would give us sufficient notice as I travel a lot.

Sculptor hits out "I wrote a lot of letters asking about it as I did not want to be off the Island when it happened. They never replied to any of my letters.'' Mr. Fountain said that his lease states the hotel has to give him 60 days notice, which it failed to do. He also claims his lease still has a year to run.

"I get this letter without any form of apology for the inconvenience merely stating that I had to vacate within three weeks and they don't expect to have any space for me when the renovations are complete.

"This puzzled me because I had asked if they would be interested in the gallery when the renovations were complete, and they were certain of it.

"At the time it was the only gallery I had. Most of the other spaces were filled with shops that were offshoots of other shops in Hamilton and could be more easily absorbed into other locations.'' He said he had to move at the drop of a hat with nowhere to go. But luckily the space at the Emporium had just become vacant, and within five days he had taken it over and converted the space into a gallery.

He said: "This (the new gallery) is the silver lining out of the tornado and whirl-wind of disaster. The silver lining in this turbulent cloud is finding such a very, very nice spot in the centre where I have been welcomed with open arms. The activity here is about 400 percent better. There is more of a buzz about the place.'' He said he is out of pocket from advertising he has taken out for the hotel gallery and in cutting his trip to Africa short and returning to the Island.

When asked about taking legal action against the Fairmont Southampton Princess he said: "I should look at legal advice.''