How much does it cost to find a Leonardo?

June 8 2015

Picture: Duke of Buccleuch

The case of the stolen Leonardo, the Madonna of the Yarnwinder, rumbles on, years after the picture was returned to its owner, the Duke of Buccleuch. Now, a former solicitor who was charged - and cleared - with involvement in trying to extort money from the Duke is seeking £4.25m he says he's owed. The 'debt' apparently came about when the Duke helped undercover police in trying to return the picture by signing a letter authorising the payment of a finder's fee for the painting. The picture was recovered by police, but the sting and the subsequent court case collapsed. Marshall Roland is now suing for the payment. 

For more see here. For earlier AHN on this affair, see here. The picture is now on loan to the Scottish National Gallery, and very fine it looks there too. 

It's worth bearing in mind though the seemingly standard practice of offering payments to seek the return of stolen paintings. In many cases, these payments are dressed up as 'finder's fees', but are in fact little more than ransom money paid eventually to those who stole the painting. The whole business of stealing and recovering paintings is now almost a standardised affair, with insurance companies ready to pay to secure an asset, and middle men - sometimes presenting themselves as 'lawyers' - to whom payment is made. The situation is in contrast to human kidnapping, where, at least in Britain, ransoms are seen as counter-productive, and merely encourage further kidnaps. 

I am not saying that is the case here. 

•