Two paintings by renowned artist Gottfried Lindauer worth $1 million stolen during a burglary five years ago have been recovered by police.
And police have revealed DNA testing has been undertaken on the precious artworks as part of their investigation.
The Lindauer paintings were stolen from an Auckland art gallery in an April 2017 ramraid.
Auckland City CIB Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the paintings, which have suffered minor damage, were returned to their “rightful” owners yesterday.
“Police were contacted by an intermediary, who sought to return the paintings on behalf of others,” Beard said.
Police are still working to identify those responsible for the burglary and they are still waiting for forensic inquiry results to come back.
Beard said forensic examination has included fingerprint and DNA testing.
“Despite extensive inquiries being conducted at the time no one has yet been charged,” he said.
“Pending any forensic results from our inquiries, Police will look at any new information that comes to hand and we will follow that up appropriately.”
The original investigation was wound down years ago.
Beard would not discuss how the paintings were returned, but said a small group of investigators would continue on the case.
Beard said it was incredibly fortunate that they’ve been able to return the paintings more than five years after they were stolen.
“Loyalties change over time and there may be people out there that know those responsible for the burglary,” Beard said.
“No matter how much time passes we remain open to the fact we can hold a person, or people, to account for the burglary in 2017.”
Beard said police would be going back over the investigation files to see where they might lead.
He believe minor damage to the paintings was made when the vehicle backed through the front of the gallery in 2017.
He said the owners don’t want a “fanfare” surrounding the return of the paintings.
“While it’s great to get the paintings back, as investigators we still want to solve the crime,” said Beard.
Beard said earlier information that suggested the paintings were ever taken overseas and sold was false information.
“Usually I’m standing here about death and tragedy but this is a good news story,” said Beard.
“It was fantastic, they were so happy, they probably thought they would never see them again,” Beard said of the moment the paintings were returned to the owners.
“I know they are happy, I could see from the smile on their faces. They are grateful.”
Beard said police were “grateful from a cultural perspective” that they had been able to give back “a piece of the country’s heritage”.
On April 1, 2017, a stolen Ford Courier ute was used in a ram raid on the International Art Centre on Auckland’s Parnell Rd.
Two men loaded the two large canvases into the back seat of an near-new white Holden Commodore and made off with the million-dollar paintings.
Art centre director Richard Thomsonsaid today’s news was “obviously a terrific development”.
Police visited Thomson at his Parnell gallery and auction house last week to advise they’d recovered the two works.
He said he couldn’t disclose the circumstances of the return. He saw the works this weekend and said: “They have some damage . . . but the Tissot [stolen from Auckland Art Gallery in 1998] had a lot more damage and is now on display in the Auckland Art Gallery looking absolutely perfect.”
Thomson said the paintings were “in safe-keeping”. He understood that while they had not yet been inspected by an art conservator, “that’s certainly going to happen”.
The paintings were in frames when they were stolen and Thomson said they had not been removed or rolled up.
The police had contacted the paintings’ original owner, “everyone’s been made aware. It’s a testament to what the police do, really. They never give up. I don’t know the full circumstances, I’m just glad they’ve been returned.”
Thomson said it was “too early to say” what would happen to the paintings now, but they would be looked over by a professional team of conservators and given a detailed condition report.
“From what I can ascertain personally, and from my experience, they are repairable. The damage is mainly surface.”
Thomson said he was not involved in the paintings’ return, “they were returned to the police - it’s not the Thomas Crown Affair”, in reference to the US heist movie.
He was able to view the paintings earlier this week. “It’s a pretty interesting day, isn’t it? It’s fabulous.”
Reflecting on the day he heard the news, Thomson said, “It’s not every day you have two detectives walk into your office . . . I kind of had an inkling this was going to be the day that I heard - it just shows you how these guys don’t give up.”
Thomson said it was too early to comment on the future fate of the paintings, which were subject to an insurance claim after the smash and grab.
“I can’t possibly comment on that at this stage. I really just can’t.”