Stolen work by Leonardo da Vinci recovered after four-year hunt

October 5th, 2007

One of the most valuable paintings ever stolen in Britain, a portrait of the Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, has been recovered by detectives more than four years after it was seized from a Scottish castle. In an audacious theft in August 2003, two men posing as tourists overpowered a young tour guide at Drumlanrig castle in Dumfriesshire and - in clear view of CCTV cameras - lifted the painting off the wall and escaped in a white VW Golf.Their getaway was photographed by other visitors but the thieves eluded capture despite an international investigation. Soon after the police investigation was wound down in 2005, the painting was added to the top 10 of the most-sought stolen art works in the world by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations.The painting, Madonna of the Yarnwinder, has been valued at more than Ј30m and was the centrepiece of the private collection of the Duke of Buccleuch, one of Britain's richest landowners, who died last month at the age of 83. His family had owned the painting for 200 years.Police in south-west Scotland said last night they had recovered the painting, in an operation also involving detectives from the Scottish drugs enforcement agency, the Scottish organised crime agency and Strathclyde police.Detective Chief Inspector Mickey Dalgleish, who led the investigation, said the force was "extremely pleased" at its recovery. "For four years police staff have worked tirelessly on the theft and with help from the public we have been able to track down and locate the painting."The masterpiece, which shows the Madonna holding an infant Jesus with a cross-shaped yarnwinder, was painted between 1500 and 1510 by Leonardo da Vinci for Florimand Robertet, secretary of state to the King of France, Louis XII.But there are doubts about its authenticity, with some speculation that it may be the work of his students.
The Guardian