16 Years After Museum Theft: Artwork Returned to Artist's Family
Following a report in ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth regarding a stolen painting by artist Yosef Bau, the work has been returned to his family. A friend of the painter purchased it at an auction he happened to attend.
16 years after it was stolen from the museum, an original painting by Yosef Bau has finally returned home. The person who brought about this happy ending was a friend of Hadassah and Tzila Bau's father. After learning the story from an article published in ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth about a month ago, he decided to purchase the artwork himself. Last Thursday, he presented it to the artist's daughters as a gift.
The painting, which depicts the figure of a Yemenite, was one of the items stolen during a 2010 break-in at the "Beit Yosef Bau" museum on Berdichevsky Street in Tel Aviv. This venue houses the estate of Bau, one of the pioneers of animation in Israel. Recently, his daughters located the painting when it was offered for auction. The two sisters, who have been monitoring sales sites, galleries, and markets for years in an attempt to recover property stolen from the museum, immediately identified their father's work.
Following the publication of the story, a turning point occurred. A friend of Yosef Bau decided to intervene and purchase the painting to return it to the family. Last Thursday, the painting reached the sisters' hands, 16 years after it disappeared.
"The stolen 'Yemenite' painting has returned to us," Hadassah Bau said with emotion. "A friend of our father bought it and gave it to us as a gift. Yesterday it returned, and we are finally allowed to photograph it and be photographed with it. I am moved to tears."
For the sisters, this is another chapter in a long journey to recover their father's works and belongings. During the break-in, original paintings and three old cameras and film cameras that were part of the display were stolen. Some items have been located over the years, while others remain missing. Just last January, the sisters accidentally found a unique film camera of their father's at a flea market and purchased it. This time, they did not have to open their own wallets; a person who knew their father read their story and decided that the artwork should return to the place from which it was taken. Now, the painting is back at Beit Yosef Bau, alongside the artist's other works.
