''Paysage Bords de Seine'' (''On the Shore of the Seine'' or ''Landscape on the Banks of the Seine'') is an 1879 oil painting by

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

. It was stolen in 1951 from the Baltimore Museum of Art and resurfaced in 2012.

History

''Paysage Bords de Seine'' was painted by Renoir in 1879. In June 1925, the painting was purchased by the Paris art gallery Bernheim-Jeune from a "Madame Papillon" (possibly Alphonsine Fournaise Papillon, a figure in the artist's '' Luncheon of the Boating Party''). In January 1926, Herbert L. May purchased the painting from Bernheim-Jeune. In 1937, May's ex-wife, Saidie May, loaned the painting to the Baltimore Museum of Art. In her

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, Saidie May bequeathed the painting, along with all her other artworks, to the Baltimore Museum of Art. She died on May 28, 1951.

Theft and rediscovery

Sometime between the evening of November 16, 1951, and a little after noon on November 17, ''Paysage Bords de Seine'' was stolen from the Baltimore Museum of Art during the "From Ingres to Gauguin" show.Baltimore Museum of Art asks judge to dismiss woman's claims to Renoir painting
/ref> The museum sold the title of the painting in an insurance claim of $2,500 to Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, which paid the museum for the loss. In July 2012, Marcia Fuqua brought the painting to The Potomack Company

auction house An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

in Alexandria, Virginia, to sell. Fuqua claimed that she bought the painting at a flea market in West Virginia for $7 in late 2009, however a family member said the painting had been in the family for "50 or 60 years" (he later changed his account) and other witnesses claimed to have seen the painting in the family's possession decades before the attempted sale. The Potomack Company cancelled the auction scheduled for September 29, 2012, and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

seized the painting and opened an investigation into the theft. In November 2013, the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company transferred the title of the painting from the insurance claim back to the Baltimore Museum of Art. On January 10, 2014,

U.S. District Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

Leonie Brinkema Leonie Helen Milhomme Brinkema (born June 26, 1944) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Early life and education She was born as Leonie Milhomme in Teaneck, New Jersey. She ...

ruled that the painting rightfully belongs to the Baltimore Museum of Art. The FBI returned the painting to the museum on January 31, 2014.

Return to Baltimore Museum of Art

Shortly after regaining possession of the painting, the Baltimore Museum of Art put the artwork on display in an exhibition titled "The Renoir Returns" running from March 30 through July 20, 2014.

History

Theft and rediscovery

Return to Baltimore Museum of Art

References

Further reading