A Norfolk woman who received a 16th-century stolen masterpiece as a gift has reportedly refused to return it to the museum because her husband ‘bought it in good faith’.
THE MADONNA AND CHILD ARTWORK
Barbara De Dozsa says the ‘Madonna and Child’ artwork, was purchased by her now deceased ex-husband, Baron De Dozsa, in 1973.
Madonna and Child, by renowned Italian artist Antonio Solario, was originally acquired by the Civic Museum of Belluno in 1872, where it remained until 1973 before being targeted by thieves who swiped several artworks.
Some of the stolen masterpieces were found in Austria shortly after the heist and were returned to the museum but Madonna and Child remained missing.
Over half a century later, the painting has now resurfaced more than 1000 miles away in Norfolk in the hands of Mrs De Dozsa, who is refusing to return it despite it being listed on police stolen art databases.
The artwork was kept at Mr and Mrs De Dozsa’s luxurious 16-century home, East Barsham Manor in Fakenham, Norfolk, where they lived together before their divorce.
It wasn’t until 2017 when it was spotted by someone linked to the Belluno museum as Mrs De Dozsa attempted to flog the historic work through a regional auction house.
The person confirmed it to be on the ‘most wanted’ lists of police forces, including Interpol and the Italian Carabinieri.
Delays caused by lockdown meant the Italian authorities could not supply the relevant documents requested by British police which meant the painting was given back to Mrs De Dozsa in 2020.
Specialist art lawyer, Christopher Marinello, has persistently tried to convince her to hand it over to its rightful owner – the museum, telling The Guardian: ‘It’s the right thing to do’.
HER ARGUMENT
However, Mrs De Dozsa cited the Limitation Act 1980, which states that a person who buys stolen goods can be recognised as the legal owner if the purchase was ‘unconnected to the theft’ after more than six years.
Mr Marinello said she orginally argued British police had given her a good title when they gave it back to her but after approaching the force about it, they told him ‘by no means do we convey title to the painting’.
When asked why the police didn’t just hand the stolen painting over to Italy, he said it shows the failure of law enforcement to help out the Italians.
He added British police said Mrs De Dozsa didn’t commit a crime so they were treating it as a civil case instead of a criminal one.
