A 17th century Flemish painting stolen from a residence on Silver Lady Lane in North Bay nearly six years ago has been recovered.
Jan van Kessel the Elder and Abraham Willemsens’ painting ‘Interior of a Collector’s Cabinet: An Allegory of Sight’ sold at Sotheby’s New York for nearly $90,000.
The Art Loss Register (ALR) says that’s over twice its high estimate at the beginning of this year.
North Bay Police investigating theft of several high-end pieces of art from a Silver Lady Lane residence this morning. Items include a 2’x3′ Jan Van Kessel painting, Limoges casket, 6″ blue/gold plate, and 6″ aventurine brush washer.
Please call with any information. #5555— North Bay Police (@NorthBayPolice) September 19, 2020
The register say the painting was stolen from a private residence in Sept. 2020 and identified three years later when Sotheby’s New York checked the item against the ALR database as part of their standard due diligence process.
Officials say it had been offered to the auction house with detailed cataloguing and provenance, alongside a claim the consignor bought it from a 2015 sale in Switzerland, the same sale officials say the theft victim purchased the work.
ALR says Sotheby’s was informed of the painting’s stolen status, and the potential consignor then went silent for over a year.
They were eventually able to get a response and recover the painting.
“This recovery demonstrates not only the benefit of registering stolen works with our database, but also the great value of due diligence checks carried out by the art market,” says James Ratcliffe, Director of Recoveries at The Art Loss Register. “We are grateful to Sotheby’s for their diligence and assistance in this case, which enabled the recovery of this picture and a very successful subsequent sale for the benefit of the insurer.”
The register says an insurance company had paid the claim on the painting and secured the right to claim the stolen painting if it ever reappeared.
