Ivan The Terrible Painting Stolen In World War II Found At Ridgefield Home

A 107-year-old painting of Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible that was stolen from an art museum in Ukraine during World War II will be returned to its homeland after it was discovered at an area residence where it had been for decades.

The painting is called Secret Departure Of Ivan The Terrible Before The Oprichnina.
Photo Credit: *Ukraine Embassy*

Joe Lombardi

12/24/2018 10:53 a.m.

Mikhail Panin's painting, called Secret Departure Of Ivan The Terrible Before The Oprichnina, was part of the permanent collection of the museum in Dnipro, U.S. attorney's office prosecutors said, according to Radio Free Europe.

An American couple inherited the painting when they bought a home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, in 1961 from a former member of the Swiss Army who had emigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1946, according to officials.

Sixty-four exhibits, including the painting, disappeared from the museum when it was occupied by Nazi forces during World War II, said authorities.

The FBI seized the painting in 2017 when Ukrainian authorities demanded its return after seeing it placed for auction. U.S. officials say they will return it to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington if no other claims are filed.

Click here to read the Radio Free Europe report.

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