The Dark Side of the Art World Theft of Duke Wellingtons Portrait

British art thief (1904–1976)

Kempton Cannon Bunton (14 June 1904 – 1976) was a disabled British pensioner who stole Francisco Goya's painting Portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London in 1961.^{[1] [2]} The theft of the painting was the subject field of the October 2015 BBC Radio 4 drama Kempton and the Duke ^[3] and the 2020 picture The Duke.^[4]

A National Archives file released in 2012 revealed that Bunton's son, John, had confessed to the theft in 1969.^[v]

Motive [edit]

Bunton was a disabled retired bus driver who earned £viii a week in 1961 (equivalent to £182 in 2020).^{[6] [seven] [8]} In that year, Charles Bierer Wrightsman, a rich American art collector who made his money in the oil business, purchased Goya's painting Portrait of the Knuckles of Wellington for the sum of £140,000 ($390,000) (equivalent to £three,186,021 in 2020). He had plans to take information technology to the Usa.^[9] The British Regime decided to buy the painting, for the same sum, to prevent the painting leaving Uk. The move was reported to accept enraged Bunton, however, who objected to the tv set licence fee,^[seven] because that Television receiver should exist fabricated available to everybody who needed it; he had campaigned for free Boob tube licences for pensioners, and been imprisoned several times for refusing to pay for a licence.^[10]

Theft [edit]

According to his own account, from conversations with guards at the National Gallery, Bunton learnt that the elaborate electronic security organisation, of infrared sensors and alarms, was deactivated in the early on morning to allow for cleaning. Bunton claimed that, on the early on morning of 21 August 1961, he had loosened a window in a toilet and entered the gallery. He had then prised off the framed painting from the display and escaped via the window.^[7]

The police initially assumed that an skillful fine art thief was responsible. A letter was received past the Reuters news agency, however, requesting a donation of £140,000 to clemency to pay for TV licences for poorer people and demanding an amnesty for the thief, for which the painting would be returned. The request was declined.

Return and prosecution [edit]

In 1965, iv years after the theft, Bunton contacted a paper, and through a left-luggage office at Birmingham New Street railway station, returned the painting voluntarily. Half dozen weeks later, he also surrendered to the police, who initially discounted him equally a suspect, because the unlikelihood of a 61-year-one-time retiree weighing 17 stone (240 lb; 110 kg) executing the theft.^{[ii] [7]}

During the subsequent trial, the jury convicted Bunton only of the theft of the frame, which had not been returned. Bunton's defense force team, led by Jeremy Hutchinson QC, successfully claimed that Bunton never wanted to keep the painting, which meant he could not be convicted of stealing it.^[xi] Bunton was sentenced to three months in prison.^[vii] In a straight response to the case, Section 11 of the Theft Act 1968 was enacted, making it an offence to remove without authority any object displayed or kept for display to the public in a building to which the public have access.^[12]

In 1996, documents released by the National Gallery implied that another person may have carried out the actual theft, and then passed the painting to Bunton. Bunton's son John was mentioned.^[thirteen]

In 2012, following a Freedom of Information request by Richard Voyce, and with the assistance of Sarah Teather MP, the National Athenaeum released a confidential file from the Managing director of Public Prosecutions in which Bunton's son John confessed to the theft following his arrest in 1969 for an unrelated modest offence. John Bunton said that his father had intended to apply the painting as role of his entrada and that it would ultimately accept been returned to the National Gallery. He said that both he and his brother, Kenneth, had been ordered by their male parent not to come forward despite the trial.^[5] Sir Norman Skelhorn, the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the constabulary that John Bunton's access of guilt was virtually certainly not sufficient to prosecute him. Skelhorn too advised that it would be difficult to prosecute Bunton senior for perjury, as the prosecution would accept to rely on the evidence of the son, who was clearly an unreliable witness. No farther action was taken.^[14]

Bunton died in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1976. His expiry went largely unreported and in that location were no obituaries in the major newspapers.^[xiv]

In the arts [edit]

The theft entered pop culture, as is referenced in the 1962 James Bond pic Dr. No, with the painting displayed in Dr. No's lair.^[9] Episode half-dozen, flavour 2 of The Goodies, "Civilisation for the Masses", references some aspects of the instance.^{[ citation needed ]}

The story of the theft and the following trial of Bunton was dramatized in the 2020 movie The Knuckles, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren,^{[four] [10]} shown in United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland cinemas from 25 February 2022;^[15] Christopher Bunton revealed details not previously known virtually his granddad's theft, including the family side of the story.^[10] In 2015, the comedy drama Kempton and the Duke by David Spicer was circulate on BBC Radio 4.^[3]

In 2020 a musical prepare around the story of the theft, titled Kempton Bunton with book by Richard Voyce, music by Luke Bateman and lyrics past Richard Hughes, was due to be showcased at Axle 2020, the festival of new musical theatre, organised by Mercury Musical Developments.^{[ citation needed ]}

See as well [edit]

• Vincenzo Peruggia

References [edit]

1. ^ "Greatest heists in art history". BBC. 23 Baronial 2004.
2. ^ ^{a b} Antonio Nicita and Matteo Rizzolli, "Screaming Too Mu(n)ch? The economic science of art thefts", 18th Erfurt workshop on Police and Economics held on 23 and 24 March 2005.
3. ^ ^{a b} Author: David Spicer; Kempton Bunton: Kevin Whately; Producer: Liz Anstee (6 Oct 2015). "Kempton and the Knuckles". Radio 4 drama. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 21 Nov 2017.
4. ^ ^{a b} "The Knuckles - opening 22 April 2022". Sony Pictures Classics. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
5. ^ ^{a b} Travis, Alan (30 November 2012). "Revealed: 1961 Goya 'theft' from National Gallery was a family unit affair". The Guardian.
6. ^ U.k. Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Boilerplate Earnings for Uk, 1209 to Present (New Serial)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 2 December 2021.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Sean P. Steele, "Heists Swindles, Stickups, and Robberies that Shocked the World", pp 74-78. ISBN 1-85627-706-two.
8. ^ Moore, Matthew (30 October 2019). "The Knuckles: movie fabricated of Kempton Bunton'south theft of Goya'southward Duke of Wellington portrait". The Times . Retrieved 26 January 2021.
9. ^ ^{a b} "World's Greatest Art Heists". Forbes. one September 2006. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Sillito, David (25 February 2022). "The Duke: Why my family stole a masterpiece portrait". BBC News.
11. ^ Nairne, Sandy (6 August 2011). "From the National Gallery to Dr No'southward lair". The Guardian.
12. ^ "Written report: Ministerial Advisory Panel on Illicit Trade" (PDF). British Section for Culture, Media and Sport. December 2000. p. fifteen.
13. ^ "Art Theft Central". xiii August 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
14. ^ ^{a b} "Kempton Bunton and the Great Goya Heist at the National Gallery". Another Nickel In The Motorcar. 9 May 2014. Retrieved five January 2016.
15. ^ Mash, Simon (8 November 2021). "The Duke finally getting a Uk movie theater release". Film Stories . Retrieved 16 Dec 2021.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempton_Bunton

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