A painting stolen more than 40 years ago in a smash and grab raid on an exhibition has been safely returned to its owner, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, UK, after being spotted at an art auction in France.
Alice Martin, head of the Devonshire collections at Chatsworth said: “Some of the priceless drawings were left and they took this which I suppose looked more expensive.” She did not put a figure on the value of the painting but said: “Old Masters drawings are worth in the millions, this would certainly not be in that league,” she said.
The returned painting, which was originally painted as preparation for an engraving and not intended to be hung on a wall, was assumed lost until, in 2021, an art historian spotted it going on sale at a small regional auction house in Toulon, France and alerted Chatsworth.
It was established that the painting had been found in
This will close in 0 seconds
Click one of our contacts below to chat on WhatsApp
learn about over-art