Art-breaking damage to Lindauer paintings stolen in ram raid
Repairing two stolen Lindauer paintings could take months and cost “thousands and thousands of dollars”, according to a leading art conservator.
The paintings, dramatically ripped from a Parnell, Auckland art gallery window in a 2017 ram raid, were on Tuesday reported recovered by police. No charges have been laid and the artworks’ whereabouts for the past five years was unknown.
At the time of the burglary, Gottfried Lindauer’s Chief Ngatairaure and Chieftainess Ngatai-raure were on display at the International Art Centre and scheduled for auction with a combined value of almost $1 million.
Auckland City CIB detective inspector Scott Beard said police had been contacted by an intermediary,
who sought to return the paintings “on behalf of others”. DNA and fingerprint testing had been carried out and forensics results were pending.
He said minor damage to the paintings — which were still in their frames
— was believed to have occurred during the burglary.
The Herald has previously been told there was an insurance payout after the burglary.
The paintings’ owners have never been identified and Beard said while they didn’t want a fanfare about the paintings’ return, “I know they are happy”.
“I could see from the smile on their faces. They are grateful . . . Usually I’m standing here about death and tragedy but this is a good news story.”
The immediate fate of the paintings is unknown. Richard Thomson, International Art Centre director, said he understood they would be examined by an art conservator.
Meanwhile, Sarah Hillary, principal conservator at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Ta¯maki, confirmed she had twice previously inspected the stolen Lindauers — once in 2008 when they were brought into Auckland Art Gallery for conservation treatment, and again in 2014.
“So that’s really useful — we have condition reports . . . [back then] they were looking good. Particularly the woman had had a few repairs before — just a few tiny ones. Anybody who was just looking at them would think they looked perfect.”
Based on the post-burglary photographs she’d seen online, the paintings “do look pretty scratched up and there are a few tears and holes . . . fortunately, they are not completely ruined”.
In 1998, when a James Tissot painting was badly damaged in an Auckland Art Gallery burglary, Hillary spent two years on its conservation, and insurers paid a reported $140,000 for the work.
“You can’t necessarily work on it full time, you need to work on it when the light’s right, when you’re in the right headspace.
‘‘You might need to leave something to dry . . . it’s quite intense.
Reparing the art would be challenging due to the artist’s techniques.