An eventful recovery of a stolen Lavery oil painting brought joy to Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and rekindled the headmaster John Browne’s enthusiasm, as reported by Carla Passino.
Staff at Whyte’s auction house in Dublin were taken aback by an unexpected find in late 2019—a delivery from Lancashire for their Irish & International Art auction. The surprise wasn’t about the painting’s quality, which was exceptional, but rather because it was John Lavery’s ‘Youth and Age,’ which had been stolen from Stonyhurst College. Headmaster John Browne shared with us that the painting was a gift to the college in 1924 from patron Patrick Small. Completed in 1885, it reflected Lavery’s transformation from a student to an accomplished artist, capturing what a 1914 Country Life review stated was a notable progression in his work.
After it went missing from the school, the painting resurfaced in a defunct antique store, where it was bought by an unsuspecting man from Preston around 1994. He later consigned it to Whyte’s in 2019. While conducting research, Ian Whyte from the auction house contacted John Lavery authority Kenneth McConkey, who astonishingly identified the painting as the one stolen from Stonyhurst College.
Whyte’s auction house promptly notified the Irish police and informed the seller that he wasn’t the rightful owner of the painting. Though caught off guard, the seller accepted that such confusions are possible. Mr. Whyte mentioned that pieces are often not known to be stolen until they turn up at auctions or exhibitions. While the Art Loss Register is typically used to avert these situations, in this case, McConkey’s expertise brought the issue to light.
The Irish and British police acted swiftly to return ‘Youth and Age’ to Stonyhurst, where it’s now displayed in Headmaster Browne’s study. It stands as an emblem of his own commitment to guiding the young minds entrusted to him. Browne draws on the painting during an annual school talk to discuss the interplay between the vitality of youth and the sagacity of age, underlining the school’s goal of nurturing well-rounded individuals.
