The Impressionist northern France beach scene Trouville - Scène de Plage is believed to be one of two paintings stolen from Richard Green in May 1990. At the time an insurance claim was made and a reward for £40,000 was put up a month later. However, it is not known if that reward was ever claimed.
Currently it is registered as stolen on the Art Loss Register (ALR) database, but there is no information about which insurance firm was involved and who holds the title of the picture now. A spokesperson for Richard Green said enquiries should be directed to the ALR.
Flea market buy
The picture has come to light after it was brought to dealer Jon White, who runs Old Bank Antiques in Royal Wootton Bassett.
A woman from Wiltshire had inherited it from her late father who had bought it at a flea market decades ago.
ALR currently has little information on the picture. James Ratcliffe said: “Sadly it can be difficult to track down insurance details 30 years after a theft if they were not provided to us originally. Paper files are destroyed and electronic ones deleted, increasingly in the name of data protection.
“That is why we always urge registrants to provide as much information as possible to us at the time they report a loss. This particular theft occurred just as the ALR was in the process of being set up, so was not registered directly.”
White told ATG: “Our customer’s father bought this picture in good faith. I’m appealing to anyone who can help to trace the insurance company so that we can return the painting and resolve this for all concerned.”
He has now enlisted the services of Christopher Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International.
