The National Post reports that a Paul Gauguin still life stolen from a London-area collector was recovered after hanging in a Sicilian autoworker’s kitchen for 40 years. Italian authorities estimate the painting’s worth between 10 million and 30 million euros (about 14 to 40 million USD). The work, depicting fruit, is linked to Gauguin’s motifs and may be from 1889, measuring 46.5 by 53 cm.
Two works by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard were stolen from a London collection in 1970 and bought for about £300 in 1975 by an Italian Fiat worker, who kept them hidden for nearly 40 years before their recovery is announced by Italy's culture ministry in Rome. The Gauguin still life (1869) is valued between €10m and €30m (£8m-£25m) and Bonnard's La Femme aux Deux Fauteuils is valued around €600,000 (£500,000). The paintings were recovered and investigations are ongoing regarding their rightful ownership.
Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge, London (1903) is discussed as part of Cornelius Gurlitt’s hidden art stash. The article notes the work’s provenance and mentions related pieces by Renoir, Cézanne, and Picasso; it cites auction results and valuations, including a 2007 Christie’s Monet sale and an Independent estimate of £8 million, with the broader context of Nazi-era looting and provenance research.
Gauguin painting recovered after years in Italian man’s kitchen; the work is a still life by Paul Gauguin from 1889 titled “Fruit on a Table or Still Life With a Puppy,” valued by auction-house experts at about $15 million. Pierre Bonnard’s “Woman With Two Chairs” was also recovered, valued at about $2 million.
Jeff Elrod is discussed in the article with a hold recommendation as his work at Luhring Augustine has strong demand. The piece notes Elrod’s “Rabbit Ears” show and prices in the current show range from $50,000 to $95,000. Christian Rosa is not mentioned in the provided excerpt.
The article reports that Germany is returning a rare self-portrait by Wilhelm von Schadow to the estate of Max Stern, a Jewish Canadian art dealer, after Stern was forced to sell many works to the Nazis. The work was sold at Lempertz in 1937, later acquired by the Düsseldorf City Museum in 1972, and its tainted provenance was clarified in a 2012 discovery; the painting is being returned through the Max Stern Art Restitution Project to Concordia University in Montreal.
The article reports that an untitled 1947 oil on canvas by Joan Miró, stored for decades in a Manhattan vault, will be offered for sale by Sotheby’s on May 8 with an estimate of $4 to $6 million. The piece’s authenticity is supported by A.D.O.M., and the narrative references Miró’s activities in New York in 1947 and relationships with people such as Thomas Bouchard and Diane Bouchard.
Doreta Peppas discovered a box of Vincent van Gogh paintings her late father recovered from a Nazi train in Greece during World War II. The stash, which also included a Cézanne nude and a Van Gogh sketchbook, is valued at about $100 million; authentication has involved X-rays and expert analysis, with a stamp on a Van Gogh portrait authenticated as a Nazi mark by the Bundesarchiv.
Huguette Clark family treasures by Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir will be auctioned by Christie’s in New York, with an evening sale on May 6 and a dedicated sale titled An American Dynasty: The Clark Family Treasures on June 18. The collection is linked to the late Huguette M. Clark and her Bellosguardo Estate in Montecito. The total collection is expected to realize in excess of $50 million.
Alexander Forbes, drawing on reporting about Cornelius Gurlitt, discusses the closing of the case regarding his Munich art trove. The article notes that an April 7 agreement allows Gurlitt to reclaim a large portion of the collection not eligible for restitution, while some works must be returned to heirs, including a Matisse. The Bavarian government’s provenance research is to be completed within one year.