USA: A recovered Goya painting, "Children with a Cart," is unveiled at New York City's Guggenheim Museum

Record ID: 788954

  • Title: USA: A recovered Goya painting, "Children with a Cart," is unveiled at New York City's Guggenheim Museum
  • Date: 17th February 2007
  • Summary: PAN: GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM GALLERY
  • Embargoed: 4th March 2007 12:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVABYN2I08TKAC4BAN3PHOZGTU76
  • Story Text: New York City's Guggenheim Museum unveiled a recovered painting by Francisco de Goya on Thursday (February 15). The painting, which was stolen last November on its way to the museum, joins an exhibition of famous Spanish masterpieces.
    A stolen and recovered painting by revolutionary Spanish master Francisco de Goya went on display at New York City's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Thursday (February 15).
    The 228-year-old painting, "Children with a Cart," was stolen last November near Scranton, Pennsylvania while it was being transported to the Guggenheim from the Toledo Museum of Art. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation recovered the painting two weeks later and returned it to the Toledo Museum of Art.
    Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Lisa Dennison said she was happy to see the Goya finally make it to New York and grateful for its quick recovery.
    "Every day felt like an eternity until we had news of the painting. But in the end, we were surprised about how short it was and I think once the nature of the crime is revealed, when the FBI concludes its investigation, the media will understand the little bit more that it had not gone that far," he said.
    The painting, which was insured for more than 1 million (U.S. dollars), joins a collection of other masterpieces at the Guggenheim's exhibit, "Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth and History."
    The FBI will not release any information regarding the painting's theft as it is currently still under investigation. But Dennison said the painting was left alone for a period of time, and that that will never happen again.
    "I think we have to evaluate procedures. The painting should have been accompanied at all times, and it was left unattended in its truck. I don't think that will happen again in any shipment that we are involved with. In a way, it was unfortunate that procedurally there was something that went wrong and amazingly in that short period of time someone would actually take the painting," said Dennison.
    "Children with a Cart" was painted in 1778 as a model for a tapestry. It depicts four colourfully dressed children and a wooden cart at the base of a dark tree, with a billowing cloud in the background.
    Co-curator of the exhibition, Carmen Gimenez, was happy to see her collection now complete. "I am happy that this painting has finally arrived at the museum, and is hanging with the other Goya painting that we have from the same series, that is also here. It's a very beautiful moment and I'm very happy," she told Reuters.
    The recovered Goya, as well as paintings from Spanish artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and El Greco, will remain on display at the Guggenheim through March 28th.
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