The Washington times., 1922-07-18
Theft Of 'LEDk
in PARIS ST|RS
=. ALL ART WORLD
Historic Painting vanishes,
Recalling Fate Of Other
Priceless Canvases.

NEW YORK, July 1S.-An-
other world-famous painting is re-
ported 'lost, strayed or stolen" in
the late cables from Paris. This
time it is Michaelangelo's master
piece, 'Leda and the Swan" AS
everybody knows, "Leda-or rath-
er, "a Leda"-has been hanging
in the London National Gallery.
Art circles had accepted that as
the permanent resting place Of
the famous painting. ~. II
Declares 1t a Copy.
But now comes Maurice Roy with
the assertion-made before the
French Academy-that the London
Leda" Is really a copy and that
the whereabouts of the original Is
unknown. Mr.. Roy suggested that
somebody, somewhere might be In
possession of the great art treasure
and yet be ignorant Of the priceless
nature of his or her possession. His
remarks have also raised a sugges.
tion that the painting, like some
others, that have figured conspic-
have been stolen.
1t is only recently that the art
world recovered from it's shock
over the daring theft Of Mona
Lisa" the priceless masterpiece OF
Leonardo da Vinci, from the Louvre,
Paris, in August, 1911. The theft
of the celebrated "Potiphar's Wife" :"
Titan masterpiece from the art gal.
lery OF the late Gar of Russia and
it's temperance in New York, and
the smuggling of the 'Gainsborough
wonder, fDuchess of Devonshire, =,
stolen in London and recovered a
quarter OF century later In Chi
Chicago, are matters of familiar his
tory. - ..
Search Cost Fortunes.
All OF those paintings were sought
the world over for years after
their mysterious disappearance
Fortunes were spent in the effort
to trace them.
-r-''Potiphar's Wife" disappeared
from the Cars gallery at Petro-
grad about the time the KerenslSy
government was supplanted by the
Trotzky-Lenine faction. A few
months later it appeared+ in the
collection OF an antiquary at Vito.
mir, near Kieff. Russia. He sold
IL to a collector named Gurwitz,
who subsequently sold 1t to a
Spaniard named Esposito. The
spaniard took It to Italy. whore he
sold It to Romeo Ronconi, pub.
Usher of the ,.Italian.American Re
view. who brought 1t to New York.
Just. who kidnapped" this famous
painting from Petrograd and pre-
served 1t for posterity in face of
the Il destructive revolution may
never be known. Mr.. Ronconi, the
present owner. has never been able
to learn. Efforts to get at this
secret, however. have served TO re-
veal one, surprising thing, and that
is that whoever took the palnti\S
from the Russian capital evidently
didn't realize the value of his bur-
den. Gurwitz. the collector at
Kitomir, told an investigator that
he bought 1t "for a song" and init
mated that he had got little mere
when he disposed Of 1t to the
Spaniard.
... Art Stolen for Bail.
There is not so much mystery
about the Gainsborough master
piece. 1t was stolen by Adam
Worth, an internationally notorious
crook, thief and safe robber. Incl
dentally there's an interesting story
behind worth's amazing theft. One
of his pals had been arrested in
London and heavy bail was demand.
ed for his release-so much that
Worth couldn't raise the amount.
One day the master rogue" and a
companion, Jack Phillips, known tC
the police as "Junka," were walking
along Bond street, London, when
fhev ha nnaned to notice that many