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A 16th-century Madonna and Child painting disappeared without a trace after it was stolen from a museum in northern Italy more than half a century ago.
Now, having surfaced in Britain, it is in the possession of a woman in Norfolk, who is refusing to return it – even though it is listed on police stolen art databases.
It was painted by Antonio Solario, an Italian who is represented in the National Gallery in London and whose patrons included a Bristol cloth merchant who traded with Italy.
The painting was acquired in 1872 by the Civic Museum of Belluno, where it remained until 1973, when it was among several pictures targeted by thieves.
Some were recovered soon afterwards in Austria. The Madonna and Child ended up in the possession of Barbara de Dozsa, who now believes that it belongs to her, partly because her deceased former husband, Baron de Dozsa, bought it in good faith in 1973. Until their divorce, they kept it at their 16th-century Norfolk home, East Barsham Manor in Fakenham, which Henry VIII is said to have described as his “small country palace”.
In 2017, De Dosza tried to sell the painting through a regional auction house, but it was spotted by someone linked to the Belluno museum, who confirmed that it is on the “most wanted” lists of police forces, including Interpol and the Italian Carabinieri.
Due to delays caused by the Covid lockdown, the Italian authorities were unable to supply relevant documents requested by the British police, and so the painting was simply handed back to De Dozsa in 2020.
Christopher Marinello, a specialist art lawyer, has tried repeatedly to persuade her to return it to its rightful owner. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said.
But she has cited the Limitation Act 1980, which states that someone who buys stolen goods can be recognised as the legal owner if the purchase was “unconnected to the theft” after more than six years.
Marinello said: “Her first argument was that when the British police gave her the painting back, they gave her good title. So I wrote to the police, and they sent her a formal letter saying ‘by no means do we convey title to the painting’.”
Asked why the police did not just hand it back to Italy if it was stolen, he said: “It’s a good question. It just shows the failure of law enforcement to help the Italians out. The UK police said that this woman didn’t commit a crime, so we’re not going to treat it as a criminal matter. It’s a civil case.”
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Carlo Cavalli of the museum wrote to her: “The fact that the painting has been given back to you doesn’t mean you have the title.”
Marinello is the founder of Art Recovery International, which focuses on stolen or looted art and is based in London, Venice and New York. His previous recoveries include a Matisse painting that was stolen in 1987 from Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art and whose whereabouts had been shrouded in mystery for 25 years until it surfaced in London.
He believes there is a moral argument for De Dozsa to return the painting – particularly as he has understood from her that she does not even like it enough to hang it on her walls. He is not working for a fee and is driven only by a belief that it belongs to the people of Belluno, from where his own family originated.
De Dozsa had argued that, as well as the cost of storage and insurance, she had to pay £6,000 in legal fees to resolve this problem.
Marinello claimed he understood from her that if he could reimburse those fees she would return the painting.
After securing permission from the Italian police, he found an insurance company that would donate the £6,000 – only for her to allegedly change her mind.
He said: “Her husband could not have paid more than a couple of hundred back in 1973. It’s only worth maybe £60,000 to £80,000 now. She refuses to cooperate unless she gets paid the full value, but she can never sell the painting. No legitimate auction house will ever touch it … the Carabinieri have it on their database and will never take it off. As soon as that painting goes to Italy, it’s going to be seized.”
Norfolk constabulary said: “Norfolk police have been advised by the UKCA [UK Central Authority] to release the painting to Mrs De Dozsa given several years have passed and there has been no response from Italian authorities in relation to the investigation. We have returned the painting but would not, as the police, return this in a judicial capacity in terms of awarding legal title to the painting.”
De Dozsa declined to comment.
