Stolen painting will be returned

The Art Gallery of Hamilton says it will return a painting that was stolen by Nazis.

“Portrait of a Lady” is a 17th century piece by Dutch artist Johannes Verspronck. It belonged to a woman in Germany until her home was looted by Nazi’s in 1940. The Art Gallery of Hamilton bought the painting for 58-thousand dollars in 1987 unaware it had been stolen. A family lawyer contacted the AGH more than a decade ago, and after years of due diligence the gallery has decided to return the painting.

Benedict Leca, “We have our duties to verify their claims. One has to take them seriously and in my research and that done by my predecessor Patrick Shaw Cable, we came to assess that these were indeed claims and it was the right thing to do was to return this picture to its rightful owner.”

The painting will remain in Hamilton until the end of the art gallery’s centennial exhibition next April. It will then be handed over to the deceased owners’ family, who now lives in the U.S.