[CPProt.net] St. PetersburgTimes: Police Seize Chagall Painting

[MSN CPPnet]

 Police Seize Chagall Painting 
Julky 12, 2005

THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES 

St. Petersburg criminal police have found a picture by Russian master and
one of the 20th century 's most influential artists Marc Chagall, which was
stolen several years ago and was being prepared to be smuggled out of the
country.

Chagall's picture, "Khasid," was stolen in 2001 from a private collection,
the city's criminal police told Interfax on Monday.

Experts value the painting at more than $1 million.

Police seized it during a raid on one of the city's expensive restaurants,
where the picture was being handed to potential smugglers who intended to
take the picture abroad.

"This piece of art has come through a long chain of mediators, from
second-hand dealers to rather important people from Moscow's Rublyovskoye
Shosse [known for its rich residents], who owned the picture for a while,"
the antique department of St. Petersburg police said.

The investigation is continuing.

The State Russian Museum two weeks ago unveiled the largest exhibition of
Chagall's works mounted in Russia. 



http://www.sptimes.ru/