Gardener Finds Stolen $66M Painting Stashed in Wall

A Gustav Klimt painting stolen almost 23 years ago might have been hidden all this time inside an Italian gallery's walls. A gardener at the Ricci Oddi modern art gallery in the northern city of Piacenza told Italian state TV on Tuesday he was clearing ivy from the gallery's walls when he noticed a metal panel. He opened it and found a bag inside a space within the walls. When the bag was opened it contained a painting that might be Klimt's "Portrait of a Lady," which disappeared from the gallery during renovations in February 1997, the AP reports. Authorities suspect thieves hid the painting in the wall, aiming to retrieve it when media attention had died down.

Piacenza police chief Pietro Ostuni said the painting is being kept in a safe place that he wouldn't reveal while experts check to see if it's the real one or a copy. The gallery said it isn't saying anything publicly until the painting's authenticity can be checked out, but the BBC reports that gallery director Massimo Ferrari believes the real painting has been found because it has the same stamps and sealing wax on the back. The painting, which is worth an estimated $66 million, is a later work by the Austrian master of the "art nouveau." Its disappearance has been one of the art world's biggest mysteries.

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