Stolen Artwork Returned to French Museum 30 Years after Theft

It’s taken a long time – over three decades – but a piece of artwork by Camille Pissarro has been returned to France. “Le Marche aux Poissons” was stolen in 1981 from the Faure Museum , which is located in Aix-les-Bains, France. A museum guard on duty at the time of the theft said that she saw a man slip the art under his jacket and walk out.

The piece of art is a color monotype and is about the size of a greeting card. The artist paints on glass and transfers the painting to a piece of paper. Pissarro painted at total 24 of monotypes, but only half of them were done in color. Francois Delattre, French ambassador, said that the return of the monotype was a happy ending to a “thriller.”

The monotype was sold back in 1985 to a San Antonio, Texas gallery. One of the employees at the gallery bought it. Eight years later, the employee tried to sell it to an auction house in New York. It was expected to sell for between $60,000 and $80,000. The auction house recognized Pissarro’s work as the piece that was stolen from the French museum. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement department in the United States ended up with the monotype in November of last year, but not before there were years of legal battles.

The ICE turned the painting over to Delattre in a ceremony at a Washington museum that featured other French impressionist art. Some of the artists on display there were inspired by Pissarro. Delattre was pleased that “Le Marche aux Poissons” will finally be able to be seen by the public again.

The ICE said that in the last five years, the department has returned over 2,500 items, many of which were stolen, to more than 22 countries. The man who stole the painting has never been prosecuted, although French authorities believe they know who it was.

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