PAINTING HELD TO RANSOM

Hokitika Guardian, 5 April 1930, Page 6

PAINTING HELD TO RANSOM

WELLINGTON ART TI.UtoY^URE.

WELLINGTON, April 3

There is in the Art Gallery, Wellington.; a picture which has an interesting..history. Its value is placed at not less than,.soo guineas, and it has been twice stolen;

On the. first occasion, it was restored pn . payment of ransom, but when tlie, thieves sought, to' obtain the .ransom on the second occasion the.polite kept the .rendezvous, and arrested the man who was returning the pictuic. This iijau was able to show himself 1 J be an innocent ’accomplice, knowing nothin g-of j the theft, while tlie prosecution of the other men failed. The picture is AY. B. Leader’s “South ward of Surrey AI ills,” which was presented to tlie Academy by the late Airs K. A. Rhodes. It is about, twenty-two years since the picture was stolen.At that time there was no resident custodian. and entrance was obtained through a Window at the rear of tlie premises. A ransom was demanded toi the return of the picture, this being paid privately by two or three wellknoWn citizens, a rendezvous being kept at which the picture was bonded over in return for'the money. A few months later the picture was again stolen in a smilar manner, and once more a ransom Avas' demanded. This time the matter was placed in the hands of the police. A rendezvous was arranged; and when the messenger arrived'with the picture he was arrested. He 'denied all. knowledge of the tlnlt IT ini self saying that he- was merely a messenger conveying a parcel for something which was to bo given him in exchange. Other arrests wore made, hut tlie prosecution was unable to secure a conviction.

The picture was recovered in a much damaged condition. It had been tak.n from the frame and folded into four and, being an oil painting it had cracked along the folds, while the centra was considerably broken. At this timi Air Cooley, a well-known English lure restorer, was in the Dominion, and his services were obtained and tlie picture restored with great success. To-day the picture hangs on the south wall of the Art Gallery, at the back of the dais and appears little the worse for its experience."