Scions of a Famed British Family Struggled for 50 Years to Recover a Stolen Portrait—But Then It Popped Up in a Google Alert

Thanks to the moxy of one family, and a little assist from
Google Alerts, an 18th century oil painting that was stolen almost
50 years ago from the Valence House museum has been returned at
long last.

In 1971, thieves broke into Valence House, a museum located in
the East London borough of Barking and Dagenham, and made off with
six portraits of members of the Fanshawe family in a stolen
government van. Shortly afterwards, police were able to recover two
of the paintings and all six picture frames—though after that early
break in the case, the Metropolitan Police were stymied. The
remaining art went missing.

Years later, with the artworks presumed lost forever, Fanshawe’s
enterprising ancestors decided to set up a Google Alert to keep
abreast of any developments in their looted family treasures. Lo
and behold, in January 2019, their efforts were rewarded. The
family got an alert that one of the works, an oil painting of
Charles Fanshawe, the 4th Viscount of Fanshawe (1643-1710),
dating to around 1750, was being offered at auction in Philadelphia
more than 3,000 miles away.

With the new tip, a multi-agency international effort was put
into place to retrieve the painting, involving London’s Met Police
Art and Antiques Unit, the FBI’s Art Team and dedicated legal
attaché, the American Embassy, and the Upper Dublin Police
Department. This crack team united to ensure the long-lost portrait’s
return.

“They say a picture tells a thousand words, and in the case of
this painting, this is another long and dramatic tale added to its
rich tapestry,” councilor Saima Shraf said in a statement. “We are
absolutely delighted to welcome home this portrait of one of our
borough’s most important figures almost 50 years after it was
stolen.”

The Valence House museum holds more than 70 portraits of various
members of the Fanshawe family, who were lords of the Barking manor
throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, and lived throughout the
borough.

The post Scions of a Famed British Family Struggled for 50
Years to Recover a Stolen Portrait—But Then It Popped Up in a
Google Alert appeared first on artnet News.