Italian police near the paintings of Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard , found in Italy in the home of a former factory worker
Source : artdaily.com

French painter Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard , stolen in Britain in 1970, were discovered by Italian police in Sicily, in the kitchen of the home of former factory worker Fiat.

Works " Fruit on the table , Small dog or "brush Gauguin and " Girl with two chairs " Bonnard more than forty years ago, were stolen from the London home of the American writer Terence Kennedy (Terence Kennedy) and his wife Matilda Marks (Mathilda Marks), daughter of the founder of the network Marks & Spencer. Three thieves were in the house Kennedy in Regent's Park under the guise of engineers, setting the alarm. They diverted the housekeeper , asking her to make tea, and themselves at this time cut pictures out of their frames and fled .

Next picture tried to smuggle in Italy, but for some reason in Turin thrown in train (perhaps frightened thief border control and so I left work). Railway workers found the web and put them into the chamber of forgotten things . Unaware of the true value of the paintings , the railway company in 1975 set them up for auction , where Fiat factory worker bought them for 45,000 pounds ( 23.24 euros). Worker confessed to police that he had bought these works of art and love that they first hung in his house in Turin, and after retirement , he moved them to Sicily and hung in the kitchen .

his son became interested in the history of paintings by his father when he saw one very similar work in the old catalog of works by Gauguin . Further police investigation helped to restore the lost provenance . Now we have to find the rightful owners of paintings , since neither Terence Kennedy nor Matilda Marx is no longer alive .

cost of painting by Gauguin, according to experts, is between 10 and 30 million euros. Because the thieves cut the picture out of the frame , it is somewhat decreased in size (46,5 × 53 instead of the original 49 × 54). Stylistically this work Gauguin is very different from its colorful Tahitian paintings. This still life with two vases and fruit sitting at the table a small dog . Work is dated 1889 and has the dedication of some " H. Countess ." The painting depicts Bonnard girl dressed in white , sitting in a chair in the midst of an orchard . The work is estimated at about 600,000 euros.

Prepared by Mary Onuchina , AI

Sources : reuters.com , artdaily.com , artinvestment.ru