Nicked: Stanley Spencer painting (ctd.)
October 23 2017
Picture: BBC
A painting by Stanley Spencer, Cookham from Englefield, which was stolen from the Stanley Spencer gallery in Berkshire in 2012, has been recovered. It was found after two drug dealers were arrested for carryiing 1kg of cocaine in a car. Police searched a number of other connected properties, and found the painting. It belonged to a private owner, who had lent it to the gallery. Detective Inspector Andy Whitewood, of the Metropolitan Police’s organised crime command, said:
“A search of Fisher’s address revealed a stolen £1m painting. This demonstrates the link between drugs trafficking and serious, acquisitive crime. I am pleased to say that the painting has now been returned to the art gallery from where it was stolen. The guilty pleas entered by both men were due to the weight of the evidence against them and are a testimony to the depth of the investigation.
More on the case here.
It's often said that criminals steal valuable paintings to act as collateral in things like drug deals, and this must I presume be a case in point. For more on the phenomenon, see a 2013 piece in The Telegraph by Alistair Sooke here.
