By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/italian-kitchen-holds-secret-decades-old-art-heist Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Italian kitchen holds secret to decades-old art heist World Apr 2, 2014 4:41 PM EDT For decades, the kitchen of a retired Italian factory worker unwittingly held the secret to a 1970 art heist in London. On its walls hung two post-Impressionist paintings: one a still life oil-on-canvas by Paul Gauguin, now worth an estimated $14 to $40 million; the second a painting by Pierre Bonnard depicting a little girl in an orchard, currently valued at about $800,000. The paintings were unveiled by officials in Rome on Wednesday after the unnamed autoworker discovered what he had hanging in his kitchen. Italian Culture minister Dario Franceschini stands next to to the painting by French artist Paul Gauguin ‘Fruits sur une table ou nature morte au petit chien.’ Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images The man was the winning bidder at a 1975 auction of unclaimed lost-and-found items by the Italian national railway. He paid 45,000 Italian lire for the two paintings, the equivalent of $100 dollars at the time. He recently told authorities he had no idea of their value, but bought them because he loved art. Italian authorities speculated the paintings were abandoned by thieves traveling on a train from Paris, France to Turin, Italy once they realized they’d have to go through a border check. The paintings were stolen from a London home in 1970. The thieves posed as burglar alarm engineers, The New York Times reported that year, and distracted the housekeeper by asking for tea, before nabbing the paintings. Italian police believe the owners were American author and socialite Terence Kennedy and his wife Mathilda Marks, the daughter of British businessman Michael Marks. Both have since died, leaving it unclear who the rightful heirs are. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin is an Emmy and Peabody award winning producer at the PBS NewsHour. In her two decades at the NewsHour, Baldwin has crisscrossed the US reporting on issues ranging from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest to the politics of poverty on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Farther afield, Baldwin reported on the problem of sea turtle nest poaching in Costa Rica, the distinctive architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands and world renowned landscape artist, Piet Oudolf. @lornabaldwin
For decades, the kitchen of a retired Italian factory worker unwittingly held the secret to a 1970 art heist in London. On its walls hung two post-Impressionist paintings: one a still life oil-on-canvas by Paul Gauguin, now worth an estimated $14 to $40 million; the second a painting by Pierre Bonnard depicting a little girl in an orchard, currently valued at about $800,000. The paintings were unveiled by officials in Rome on Wednesday after the unnamed autoworker discovered what he had hanging in his kitchen. Italian Culture minister Dario Franceschini stands next to to the painting by French artist Paul Gauguin ‘Fruits sur une table ou nature morte au petit chien.’ Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images The man was the winning bidder at a 1975 auction of unclaimed lost-and-found items by the Italian national railway. He paid 45,000 Italian lire for the two paintings, the equivalent of $100 dollars at the time. He recently told authorities he had no idea of their value, but bought them because he loved art. Italian authorities speculated the paintings were abandoned by thieves traveling on a train from Paris, France to Turin, Italy once they realized they’d have to go through a border check. The paintings were stolen from a London home in 1970. The thieves posed as burglar alarm engineers, The New York Times reported that year, and distracted the housekeeper by asking for tea, before nabbing the paintings. Italian police believe the owners were American author and socialite Terence Kennedy and his wife Mathilda Marks, the daughter of British businessman Michael Marks. Both have since died, leaving it unclear who the rightful heirs are. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now