Stolen painting reappears after 23 years, in the same gallery where it was taken
A famous painting by Austrian Gustav Klimt had been missing for 23 years. Now, it turns out, the painting was hidden in the walls of the gallery from which it was stolen. The only major sign of wear, according to the AP, is a small mark on the side of the painting where it may have been hurriedly removed from its frame.
The 1917 Klimt, known as "Portrait of a Lady," was found missing from the Ricci Oddi modern art gallery in Piacenza, Italy, on Feb. 22, 1997. It's still unknown who took the artwork, but now it appears that the painting may have never left the gallery grounds. A gardener at the gallery said he was clearing ivy on Dec. 10, 2019, according to the Associated Press, when he found a bag in a gap in the walls. That bag contained the portrait, in remarkably undamaged condition.
"It's with no small emotion that I can tell you the work is authentic," Piacenza prosecutor Ornella Chicca said during a press conference, according to the Associated Press.
Klimt, an Austrian painter best known for his colorful, patterned portraits of women, produced works that now command enormous sums on the open market. According to the AP, Oprah Winfrey recently sold Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II" for $150 million.
https://www.livescience.com/stolen-gustav-klimt-painting-found-in-gallery-walls.html
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