The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

44 The last word

THEWEEK19 February 2022

Sixty-one years ago,Francisco

de Goya’sportrait oftheDuke

of Wellingtonwasstolen from

theNationalGallery.It wasthe

firsttheftofanartworkin its

137-yearhistory, andoneofthe

most audacious artheistsofthe

20thcentury.The assumption

wasthatsomesophisticated

crimesyndicatehadstolen

thepainting. Four yearslater,

a61-year-oldunemployed

taxidriverfrom Newcastle

claimedtohavetakenit –

as abargainingchipforhis

quixoticcampaignto secure

freetelevision licencesfor

pensioners. KemptonBunton

wastried,butacquittedon

thegrounds thathehadonly

“borrowed”theOldMaster.

Thisimprobabletaleis

thesubjectofThe Duke,a

delightfulfilm starringHelen

Mirren and JimBroadbent

whichisplayingin cinemas

later thismonth.But just asthefilmcontains afurther twist, so

toodoestherealstory.It wasBunton’sson,Jackie, who stolethe

painting,nothis father,andtodayJackie’s son, Chris(Kempton’s

grandson),istelling mehowhisfatherpulled offthefeat.

When Iaskdirectlyif hisfather

wasthethief, ChrisBunton

replies,“There’sno doubt he

was.He was20yearsoldat

thetime,and Kemptonwasnot

involvedinthe planning ofthis

inanyway,shapeorform.”He

sayshis fatherhaswrittenabriefconfessiontoChris’sownson,

Jay,whichstates, “DearJay,thisisyour grandfather. Iam fully

responsiblefor taking the Goya. My father hadnoinvolvement in

it at alluntilafter the fact.”Jackie “was not proud”of takingthe

painting,Chris adds. “Heactually said it wasthe dumbest,

stupidest thingheever did.”

As forJackie, he is now 80, widowed, ailing and living in aflat in

NorthShields. Doorsteppedby areporter, he refusedtodiscuss

the theft. “Those things are best left in thepast,”he said.“Idon’t

talk about whathappened then.” Goyapainted theIronDuke,

resplendent in ared tunic, afterhis victory over theFrench at

Salamancain 1812.In1961, Charles Wrightsman,anAmerican

art collector,bought it at Sotheby’sfor £140,000,but the

prospectofthe portrait of oneofBritain’smostfamoussoldiers

leavingthe country caused uproar. It wassaved with a£100,000

gift fromaphilanthropistand £40,000from the Treasury.On

3August that year, it went on displayatthe top of the National

Gallery’s central stairs, uninsured and protectedonlybyarope

barrier. Seventeendays later, it vanished.

The theft wasasensation. Portsand airportswere closed. Trains

weresearched.Interpol was alerted.The gallery offered a£5,000

reward.Butthe policefound

no clues exceptmudon the

windowsillofagents,aladder

to thecourtyardbelow, and

scuffmarksonthe gallery’srear

gate.More peoplewenttosee

the emptyspacewherethe

paintinghad been displayed

thanhad gonetoseethe

portrait itself.“Howdoyou

feelwhen you’velost aGoya?

Youfeel abloodyfool,” said

Sir Philip Hendry,thegallery’s

director,who offered toresign.

There wasmuch speculation

aboutthe identity ofthe

mastermindbehindthe theft.

Somenotedrecent artthefts

on thecontinent andbelieved

amillionaire wasamassinga

privatecollection.Othersdrew

aconnectionwiththetheftof

theMonaLisafromtheLouvre

byanItalianpatriot, 5 0years

earlier.Buteveryoneagreed

thatthetheftitselfwas the

work ofaconsummateprofessional.Lord Robbins,chairofthe

Gallery’strustees, declaredthatthethiefmust havebeen “slim”

and“physicallyfit”,“amanwithout fear.”

Ninedays after thepaintingvanished,Reutersnews agency

received anotewritten inpencil

andcrude capital letters.“Query

notthatIhavethe Goya,”the

writerbegan.“Thepicture is

not,andwillnotbe for sale.

Itisforransom–£140,000 –

to begiven forcharity.” The

authoritiesruledout anysuchdeal.But notes continued tobe sent

to news agencies.“TheDukeissafe.Histemperaturecaredfor

–his future uncertain,” onedeclared 11 months later, before

demandingagain aransom forcharity. As the mystery deepened,

Dr. No,the firstJamesBond film, wasreleased.Inone scene Sean

Connery walks throughJulius No’sunderground lair,and spots

Goya’s portraitonaneasel.

In March 1965 afinalnote arrived, proposing to return the

paintingprovided it wasput on showforamonth with a

five-shilling viewingcharge andthe proceeds given to acharity

of hischoice.HughCudlipp’sDaily Mirror tookupthe

challengeoforganising the show,publishing a“sporting offer”on

its frontpage. “Thisgreat national arttreasureshouldbetaken

immediatelytothe shop of any newsagent in the land,” it said;the

Mirror would then attempttoput it on display.Two weekslater,

the editor received aleft-luggage ticket from Birmingham’s New

Streetstation. There thepolice foundthe Duke of Wellington,

frameless but undamagedafter his four-year kidnapping,wrapped

in brownpaper secured with alength of clothes line.

Therethe storywould haveendedhadaman in cheap NHS

glasses notwalkedintoScotlandYard two months later. “My

The night the National Gallery

lost amasterpiece

KemptonBunton:“I wouldn’thangit in my own kitchen”

The theftof Franciscode Goya’sportraitof the Dukeof Wellingtonin 1961causedasensation.Fouryearslater aretired taxi

driverconfessedto the heistand was sent to jail. MartinFletcherrevealswho the real thief was –and howhestole the portrait

“‘TheDukeis safe’,the ransomnote

read.‘His temperaturecaredfor –

his futureuncertain’”