LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2007— The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday it has found a Norman Rockwell painting, Russian Schoolroom, which was stolen in 1973, in the home of film director Steven Spielberg. But the entertainment industry mogul is not a suspect.
The painting was stolen from a Norman Rockwell exhibition in Clayton, Missouri, and did not surface until 1988, when it was sold at auction in New Orleans, Louisiana, the FBI said.
In 2004, FBI agents determined that the painting had been advertised for sale at a Norman Rockwell exhibition in New York in 1989.
While they followed leads, Spielberg's staff saw an FBI theft notice and realized that the painting, which in the meantime had found its way into the film director's collection, had been stolen.
Spielberg's staff immediately brought the painting's current location to the FBI's attention, officials said.
Spielberg purchased the painting in 1989 from a legitimate dealer and did not become aware that it was a stolen work of art until last week.
"Mr. Spielberg is cooperating fully with the FBI and will retain possession of the Russian Schoolroom until its disposition can be determined," an FBI statement said.
Copyright 2007 Agence France-Presse
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