(NewsNation) — A painting missing for more than 70 years was returned to its owner Thursday.
The “Landschaft italienischen Charakters” (“Landscape of Italian Character”) by the Austrian painter Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer (1700–1733) had been missing since the beginning of World War II in 1939.
The artwork later resurfaced in the U.S. in 2011 and ended up in the possession of a Chicago-area WWII veteran’s descendants. According to the FBI, the painting was offered for the Bavarian museum to buy back, but negotiation attempts were unsuccessful, and the painting was lost without a trace until 2022.
The FBI says when the WWII veteran passed away, the painting came into the possession of a Chicago resident. An international art recovery firm told investigators they had been in negotiations with the resident, who handed it over to the FBI within the same day of meeting them.
The FBI on Thursday met with representatives for the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chicago to return the painting.
“I am delighted that an art treasure that was believed to have been lost is coming back to Bavaria,” Markus Blume, the Bavarian State Minister for Science and Arts, said. “The return of the painting by Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer to the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen is not only an act of historical justice but also an expression of the appreciation of our cultural heritage. In particular, I would like to thank the American FBI and all those who participated in the return of the painting on the American and German sides.”
Aside from Thursday’s painting repatriation, the FBI’s Art Crime Team has been bringing home missing or stolen art to its rightful owners for almost 20 years.