The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
THEFTS OF RARE PICTURES
Some of the Famous Paintings
Which Have Been Stolen.

Incidents Recalled by the Recovery
Of Gainsborough's ''Ducbcss of
DevOnshire" - story of the Mutii-
atcd MuriIIo of the City of seville.
The theft of Gainsborough' $4,000
painting of the Duchess of Devonshire,
now just recovered after the lapse of
! twenty-five years, is by no means the
only case where the work Of famous art
lists has been the prey of robbers
About thirty years ago several pictures
were cut from the frames and stolen
| from the Earl of Sunolks collection.
! These the thieves were not able to turn
into money, and at last they gave up the
attempt and were compelled, in order to
escape detection to hide away their plum
der under one of the arches of Black
friars Bridge, where the pictures were at
length discovered and restored to their
| owner.
The famous "Vierge Coupee' of Mar
shall Soults gallery was the picture from
| which it was said an officer cut the flg-
( ures of the Virgin and child before 1t
, had been taken by the marshal as his
| prize. For many years the picture re-
manned in the Soult gallery with a mod
! ern Virgin and child supplied in pla;e of
/ Murillos. and was sold in this state
! eventually, by remarkable piece of good
! fortune, coming into possession of gen
! tiernaa who happened long before to have
| purchased the real Virgin and child of
Murillo belonging to it.
! Several daring thefts have been commit
ted from the Dresden Museum from time
to time. In 17l7 three pictures, one Of
which was by Mieris, were stolen. inc
AIieris was subsequent recovered. Again
in 17SS three more paintings were carried
off They were the Reading Masdalen,"
/ by Correggio; the Judgment OF Paris,
| b. Van der Werff. ard a portrait ley Sey-
bold.
a reward of 1.COO ducats was promised
/ to whoever should bring back the pictures
! and the result was that four days later a
box was found near the Zwinger contain-
/ ing the two pictures by Van der VERT and
/ Seybold. Soon after the thief himself, a
man named Wogaz, of bad reputation,
| was unprecedented and the "Magdalen'
found in hayloft. concealed beneath the
flooring. The frame, however which was
ornamented with gold and precious stones,
had already been wrenched of
In 1910 a small portrait OF the Style of
| HoIbein mysteriously disappeared. and
| never was traced. After this last theft all
the smaller pictures were fixed more hrm-
! ~ to the walls: in spite Of which, in lSis
| a woman called Sophia May Won Langen-
| salza succeeded in carrying of. in open
| dav a precious work of Metzu. She was
| foolish enough to put II up Tor Saie at
! Leipzig, where it was immediately recog-
! nzed as the missing picture. thus causing
| her apprehension. -
/ of picture robbery was that of the mutt
lated Murilo. The theft of Gainsbor-
ough's Duchess Of Devonshire excepted,
! no event in recent years caused so much
stir in the world of art as the announce
! nent- of the mutiation Of MuTillos cele-
brated picture representing The APP
1 pearance of the Infant Jesus TO 81. An
I thony' The colossal picture is owned in
! Seville and is one Of the city's chief glor-
| les THE Duke of Wellington is said to
have offered IN vain fof-ft as many onz2s
7 as would be required to cover it.
/ On November >. 1874, il was discovered
that the figure Of 81. Anthony had been
! cut from the picture. during the preceding
curtain usually covering it had not been
withdrawn. so far as known.
! The stolen fragment was eventually
| brought 10 America, the despoilers ap-
( parently being afraid to attempt the sd Re
OF il in Europe. Fortunately 1t was offer
| eG to Mr.. Schaus, well-known picture
dealer in Broadway, New York, by whom
il was at once recognized. The fragment,
/ which comprised less than a fourth Of
| the picture, formed a rough oval about
! seven feet high, the canvas being tackled
! at the cages TO a new american fndut
stretchcr. 1t had previously been lady
| handled, the eye and nose having almost
entirely peeled off.
The person who offered the canvas for
| sale called himself Fernando Garcia, a
I Spaniard. and represented the painting as
a treasure which had long been in his
! family. He was willing to sell II for al
most any price, and when pressed to
name a figure suggested $50 or $500. For
the former sum it was secured by Mr..
Schaus, who handed 1t over 70 the Span
| ish Consul.
| Mr. x, a wealthy land owner of vi
emma had collected a valuable gallery.
and when from home he permitted the
public to inspect his collection. foremost
among which was the portrait Of a Dutch
admiral. dating from the sixteenth CEN
tury painted by the Venetian artist. Par
is Bordone. one day he found that his
Bordone had been cut from the frame
and carried of kilograms We're at once
sent to the different diplomatic represent
ment abroad. giving an exact description
OF the picture, and Offering tl20 for its
recovery.
Some time after a stranger called at
the house saw Mr.. Ks secretary, and
arranged for the return Of the picture If
lions asked. The conditions We're accept
ed and the stranger brought canvas
| which, on being found 10 tit the frame
and correspond with the edges of the mu-
tilated picture, was accepted as the lost
! Bordone. Mr. X was overjoyed TO see
the Dutch admiral gazing at him from
his frame and would have been the hap
piest man in the world but for a friend
expressing doubts as to the authenticity
| of the canvas. Close examination showed
| that the suspicious were not unfOunded.
| He had given El20 for mere copy Of his
I Il i lot