Looted artwork returned to church

A “priceless” 17th century bust looted from a bombed church in London during The Blitz – the strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany during World War II – will be returned to its rightful home more than 70 years after it was stolen.

The sculpture of Peter Turner, an eminent botanist and physician, was taken from the nave of St Olave’s in the City on the night of April 17, 1941.

But it was only located when it was consigned for sale earlier this year and is now due to take up its original position in the mediaeval church where diarist Samuel Pepys is buried.

The 1614 statue – worth an estimated £70,000 – was recovered after a curator at the Museum of London got wind of the impending Dreweatts auction and tipped off church officials. The Art Loss Register (ALR), an organisation which specialises in tracking down stolen pieces and resolving art-related disputes, took on the case and the alabaster bust was withdrawn from the sale.

An investigation later revealed a chain of previous buyers including Belgian art trader Paul de Grande who bought the work from an ecclesiastical dealer in The Netherlands. The Dutch dealer had acquired the work from a man going by the name of Gray Dench.

Christopher Marinello, ALR executive director and general counsel, said research showed this name was false. To the surprise of experts, the bust had travelled to the Netherlands with documentation detailing its history up until the 1941 bombing. Church officials were stunned to find the provenance stated: “Presumably the bust of Dr Turner was salvaged from the ruins (of the Church) but its history since the Blitz is undocumented”.

However, investigators believe the artwork was stolen rather than salvaged after the bombing.

“I do not believe that Mr de Grande or the Dutch dealer knew that this bust was stolen”, Mr Marinello said. “However, both dealers knew that the bust originated from St Olave’s. One simple phone call to St Olave’s would have brought the true history to light.”

ALR said the Dutch dealer declined to comment while Mr de Grande claimed he did not call St Olave’s because wartime photographs of its bombed state led him to believe it had been destroyed.

Mr Marinello said it would take some time to set the bust back in its original position but it is expected to be in place later this year.