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Painting Stolen Over 50 Years Ago by Mobsters Is Finally Recovered
- The Schoolmistress by John Opie was recovered and returned to the Wood family after decades tied to mob activity.
- The work was stolen in 1969 from Dr. Earl Leroy Wood’s Hoboken home during a mob‑related burglary.
- The painting was rediscovered in 2020 after a collector’s death revealed its troubled past.
- FBI officials helped reunite The Schoolmistress with the descendants of its original owners.
- The painting was created in 1784 in England and depicts a woman helping children with their work.
- Dr. Francis Wood, Earl Wood’s son, now 96, received the painting after the FBI confirmed its history.
- The case illustrates how art crimes can unfold over decades before resolution.
- CNN and FBI involvement underscores the importance of provenance in art restitution.
- The Schoolmistress is attributed to John Opie, an 18th‑century English painter renowned for rural scenes.
- The painting’s return marks a historic closure of a multi‑decade art theft saga.
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