'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
An Edouard-Leon Cortés painting that was stolen almost six decades ago from the Herbert Arnot Gallery in New York has finally returned to the very same place it was taken from. The artwork was stolen somewhere between the 1950s and the 1960s. On Tuesday, November 21, Art Recovery International put out a statement confirming that the artwork had been recovered.
The piece, titled Flower Market Madeleine, was purchased by Carnes Fine Art, an English art dealer, in a 2022 Cape Dunn auction.
The artwork was a victim of the infamous Louis Edelman heist. Edelman peddled thousands of Arnot Gallery artworks worth over $1 million in the 1950s and 1960s.
'Flower Market Madeleine' rightfully returned to Arnot Gallery
Tuesday's Art Recovery International statement proudly proclaimed that a stolen Edouard-Leon Cortés painting, titled Flower Market Madeleine, was successfully recovered. The artwork was stolen from New York's Herbert Arnot Gallery in an infamous heist and was lost for around 60 years.
The artwork had been purchased from a November 2022 Capes Dunn auction by Mawdesley, England, art dealer Carnes Fine Art, who then offered it for sale in 2023. It had reached the auction from a Cheshire estate, which then confirmed that they received the artwork from London's MacConnal-Mason Gallery.
The statement detailed that Art Recovery International founder and lawyer, Christopher A. Marinello, had taken months to unwind the sale and had convinced many of the parties involved to reimburse one another.
The statement quoted him:
"We are very grateful to Bradley Carnes, Capes Dunn, and their vendor for releasing this stolen painting unconditionally to the Arnot Gallery."
He added:
"I cannot stress enough the importance of performing due diligence and authentication checks which would have uncovered this stolen painting decades earlier."
Marinello also requested anyone buying Edouard-Leon Cortés or Antoine Blanchard paintings to check for proper authentication with the Arnot Gallery before the sale.
Louis Edelman's infamous painting heist
Louis Edelman used to work as a gallery manager and salesman at the Arnot Art Gallery, situated at 250 West 57th Street, New York. In 1966, he unexpectedly quit his work at Arnot Gallery to open up his own gallery nearby.
However, the seemingly innocent man had actually been peddling Arnot Gallery artworks during his tenure there. A 12-year period between the 50s and the 60s.
He sold the gallery's artwork and invoiced the buyers under his own name. The At Recovery International statement recalled that Edelman, by the end of his tenure at the gallery, had illegally sold over 3000 artworks worth over $1 million to his former employer. The FBI arrested him in Chicago.
He was convicted of the federal crime of "transporting stolen artworks across state lines". This landed the thief a $10,000 fine and a 2-year prison sentence. However, most of the 3,000 paintings were lost.
A majority of these artworks were sold in St. Louis, Chicago, and Kansas City. The statement quoted the response of one art dealer, who was questioned about whether he knew that the artworks were stolen.
He said:
"Well, not all of them."
Christopher A. Marinello revealed that "one or two pictures" were being recovered every year from this 60-year-old Grand Theft Painting. He also vowed that Art Recovery International will not give up until "every last one is returned".
