Manship & Troubetzkoy Statues recovered 32 years after being stolen

'Central Figure of Day' by Paul Manship and "Figure of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney' by Prince Paul Troubetzkoy

Two bronze sculptures stolen 32 years ago from Hirschl & Adler Gallery in New York City have been returned to the gallery.

‘Central Figure of Day’ by Paul Manship was the first of the sculptures to be stolen at the start of December 1983. ‘Figure of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’ by Prince Paul Troubetzkoy was stolen three weeks later from the same show at the gallery.

At the time of the theft both pieces were valued for $24,000, they are now valued at the combined price of $250,000. When they were stolen both thefts were reported to the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA)

Both figurative sculptures were found after being consigned for sale in December 2014. During the Gerald Peter Gallery in New York’s active due diligence the active claims against the pieces were brought to light.

Chris Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International said “thanks to more and more galleries undertaking their due diligence, we have a better chance than ever of recovering long-lost works of art.” He also added “it is never too late to pursue a claim.”

This was not the first time a Manship sculpture has been stolen, his works Aries and Taurus were also stolen from a New York gallery in 1990. These works are still missing but have now been added to the Art Recovery Group’s database of missing and stolen art.