Help me find stolen portrait of my mother, Today presenter urges public
MISHAL HUSAIN, the Today programme presenter, has asked the public to help her find a portrait of her mother that was stolen three decades ago.
The BBC journalist has revealed that the painting of her mother, Shama, was stolen while in storage in the 1990s.
Ms Husain issued a public plea for help in tracing the missing portrait painted by Bernard Hailstone, an English painter known for his Second World War portraits. She wrote on Twitter: “A long shot … can anyone help me locate this portrait of my mother?
“It was stolen while stored in a garage in London in the 1990s and most likely ended up in a skip. But if not – it would be amazing to find it.”
The painting was commissioned by Ms Husain’s father, Tazi, a urologist and amateur painter, between 1978 and 1980. Ms Husain said that a garage where her family were storing their personal possessions during a move was “completely cleared out” by burglars and the painting had not been seen since.
She told the Daily Mail: “I have never forgotten about that painting because it is such a good likeness of my mother as I remember her in my childhood.
“The portrait came up in conversation with her recently and I said that if she could find a photo of it, then I would try via social media to see if it can be found.”
It was painted by Hailstone, who became known for his portraits of royalty, including the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Queen Mother.
He also painted Winston Churchill during the Second World War.
Ms Husain added: “Maybe there is someone out there who bought this painting all those years ago and have always wondered who the woman was. “It would be wonderful if it can be found and returned to us.”