Dennis Russell shows the paintings he found near his home
Three paintings valued at €200,000 which were stolen in Wicklow last October have been found dumped in a ditch. Denis Russell was trimming the hedges at his holiday home in Donard when he came across a black sack which he presumed to be rubbish dumped by a passer-by – a fairly common occurrence. However, the bag actually contained artworks which had been stolen from a home just a few kilometres away on October 22.
There was further good news for the county, after the State conceded that it was not lawful for the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) to grant export licences for paintings from the Beit collection, which had been kept at Russborough House, to leave Ireland for the UK. In its High Court action, An Taisce had argued that export licences were granted for the paintings by the NGI, rather than the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht.
The paintings recovered by Denis Russell are Portrait of a Lady by Sir John Lavery which is worth an estimated €100,000; Landscape with Cottage by Paul Henry which is valued at €50,000 and The Fern in the Area by Jack B Yeats which is estimated to be worth €50,000. Gardai believe the paintings have been laying in the bushes since the night of the robbery nine months ago. Fortunately, the paintings are understood to be in reasonable condition despite being outside over the winter months.
Russell has said that the Yeats painting looked as though it had been slightly damaged and that he ensured they were handled as little as possible before they were turned over to Gardaí. The works were brought to Garda Headquarters for examination as Gardaí in Baltinglass renewed their appeal for information regarding last year’s burglary.
The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made. Russell and his wife, both art enthusiasts, are said to be delighted that they can be returned to their rightful owners. It was Russell’s wife, Bernie Whelan, who first made the connection with her husband’s discovery and last year’s robbery. “My wife Bernie was very excited to see them and so we took a picture because we thought it’s not every day that you get that close with paintings like these,” Russell said.
Meanwhile, the Beit case has been settled with Minister Heather Humphreys consenting that the department was wrong to delegate the granting of export licences to the NGI. Minister Humphreys stated that the delegation of the power to grant licences to the NGI was first carried out 30 years ago in a manner that was not lawful. An Taisce are now seeking to have seven of the works, including works by Rubens and Francesco, returned to Ireland. Two of the paintings had been sold privately while the auction of the other seven was postponed last month.
Following the High Court decision, the paintings can not be exported from the UK to outside the EU. An Taisce are calling on Minister Humphreys to seek the return of the artworks to Ireland. “It is clear now that the minister should have taken responsibility for the unlawful export of paintings of such cultural significance,” said An Taisce’s Charles Stanley-Smith. “So we are calling for Minister Humphreys to take action to secure their return, and not waited till the 11th hour and a court action to do so.”
