Do you remember the scene from the James Bond film Dr. No, where 007 goes to meet the villain in his Caribbean lair and does a double-take on a picture displayed on an easel?

It is Francisco Goya’s 1812 portrait of the Duke of Wellington – at the centre of the famous Duke of Wellington painting theft, stolen from the National Gallery in London in 1961, a cause celebre in Britain of almost equal magnitude to the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris 50 years earlier.

A very English art theft

In the end, it turned out that the National Gallery’s first-ever theft was not the work of a gang of international art thieves, but of Kempton Bunton, a 57-year-old retired bus driver from Newcastle upon Tyne, and campaigner for free TV licenses for pensioners. The painting was a ‘hostage’ in that campaign. Shocked that the Government had paid £140,000 f0r the (rather indifferent) Goya, he wanted the same amount paid to charity, to help elderly people.

For the best part of four years he teased the police with anonymous notes about the painting, but he eventually revealed to a national newspaper that it was in a railway station Left Luggage office. It was recovered undamaged, but the frame was missing.

Bunton turned himself in. At his trial, he was found Not Guilty of stealing the Goya, since he had only ’borrowed’ it and was always willing to hand it back. He was, however, sentenced to three months in jail for the theft of the frame, which was never recovered. So much for England’s quirky justice! (Source and more details DailyArt magazine: https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/duke-of-wellington-james-bonds-dr-no/)

If you were to “borrow” a masterpiece…

We also got to thinking; if YOU stole a painting for a good cause, which one would it be? Send us your thoughts in a comment to this blog and why not join us for more quirky musings at aperitivo time on a Watermill creative course?

I think I’d go for the delightful Madonna and Child with Two Angels (below), painted by Filippo Lippi in the 1460s.

Filippo Lippi. Madonna and Child with two Angels, Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Public Domain via Wiki Commons.

Or, for something a bit more modern, how about this picture in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Claude Monet’s The Magpie.

Claude Monet, La Pie, (The Magpie) 1868/1896. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Looking forward to hearing your light-fingered choice!

Creative holidays in Tuscany – art, stories and good company

Come and join us for inspired tuition, warm hospitality, beautiful accommodation, delicious home-cooked food and stunning locations, as well as quirky conversation. Be creative – and have fun. And hands off the artwork! You can read all about our creative holidays – painting, knitting and Italian language – by clicking here.