Pensioner Finds Stolen Art Treasures In His Attic

Jan 13 2008 By Derek Alexander

Exclusive Pensioner Finds £250k Of Stolen Paintings In His Loft

A PENSIONER has uncovered a valuable haul of stolen paintings in his attic.

The artwork, worth at least £250,000, had been missing since a burglary six years ago.

The 67-year-old man who found the stash at his home in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, thought the paintings belonged to a previous tenant.

He took photographs of the haul and sent them to be examined by the Fine Art Society in London.

Their experts immediately knew the paintings were the real deal. But they also knew the artwork was stolen and contacted the police.

Fine Art Society Managing Director Patrick Bourne said: "The man who contacted us wasn't trying to sell the paintings."

"He found them by chance and just wanted to know if they were of value.

"I'd seen the paintings 25 years ago and knew the ones he had were genuine just by looking at the photographs.

"The insurance company had also informed us that they were stolen so it's been an amazing stroke of luck."

The paintings include three pieces by Edinburgh's Robert Gemmell Hutchison, who died in 1936, and two pastels by Greenock-born Sir James Guthrie, who died in 1930. The Hutchison paintings are The Pink Pinafore, Feeding The Gulls and Cottarita. The recovered works by Guthrie are named Luss Road and Candlelight.

The items were taken from a house in Cairndhu Gardens, Helensburgh, in 2002.

Detective Sergeant Martin Penny, of Dumbarton CID, said: "The investigation's at an early stage but it's important we establish how the paintings got in the loft.

"I would ask people to cast their minds back in the hope that they remember seeing something which at the time may have seemed a little suspicious."

Last October, Da Vinci's famed work Madonna and the Yarnwinder was found four years after it was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle, in Dumfriesshire.

Five men were arrested after it turned up in a solicitor's office in Glasgow city centre.

SUNDAY EMAIL

d.alexander@sundaymail.co.uk