Connecticut auction house and LI antiques dealer help recover paintings stolen nearly 50 years ago
The paintings disappeared from Kenneth Lux Gallery and Hirschl & Adler Galleries and remained missing for decades.
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Two paintings stolen from New York galleries nearly 50 years ago have been returned to their rightful owners with help from a Connecticut auction house a pair of sharp eyes on Long Island.
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers in Milford helped recover the Eastman Johnson paintings "Mary and Her Lamb" and "The Young Mother," which were stolen from New York galleries in 1978.
The paintings disappeared from Kenneth Lux Gallery and Hirschl & Adler Galleries and remained missing for decades.
The breakthrough came when Long Island antiques dealer Brandon Levine recognized the paintings in an estate collection and contacted Shannon's owner Sandra Germain.
After reviewing an online catalogue raisonné for Eastman Johnson's work, Levine and Germain found records showing both paintings had been reported stolen in 1978.
Germain then contacted the Art Loss Register, which confirmed the information.
Shannon's and Levine worked with the family that inherited the paintings and helped arrange for their return to the rightful owners.
One painting was returned to Hirschl & Adler Galleries, while the descendants of gallery owner Kenneth Lux were located and reunited with the second work.
Experts say the two paintings could be worth as much as $200,000 combined.
