Finally, last year, the painting was declared stolen and placed on the
International Art Loss Register.
Subsequently, the gallery director, Dr Gerard Vaughan, informed the Victorian
government that “a painting in the state collection, previously
considered misplaced, is now suspected to have been stolen.” “In
all likelihood, this painting is no longer in our possession,” he
wrote.
Bonington, who died of tuberculosis at age 25, lived for a long time in France
and is regarded as a seminal figure in the development of European
modernism.
Still, as an Australian art academic noted, the missing piece was hardly
iconic and may have been easy for gallery visitors to miss.
“If you have an absolute passion for romantic French landscapes, you
could be quite upset not to see this work,” said Sasha Grishin, a
professor of art history at the Australian
National University.
“But for a normal gallery goer, even for a person who is quite passionate
about the [National Gallery of Victoria] collection, it’s not something
that’s going to strike you as a major icon missing.”
Related posts:
Views: 0