Madonna and Child by Antonio Solario, as seen after its surfacing in 2019, Norwich, United Kingdom, October 1 2024 (Art Recovery International)

A 16th-century painting stolen more than 50 years ago from a museum in northern Italy resurfaced in Norfolk, in the possession of a woman from Norfolk, according to The Guardian.

Madonna and Child was painted by an Italian artist with an obscure career, Antonio de Solario, and acquired in 1872 by the Civic Museum of Belluno. It remained there until it was stolen In 1973, along with other pictures in the gallery.

The woman, identified as Barbara de Dozsa, has refused to turn over the painting to the authorities despite its being listed in the police database as stolen since her late husband, Baron de Dozsa, bought it in 1973.

The de Dozsas kept the painting in their 16th-century Norfolk home in East Barsham Manor, Fakenham, until the couple's divorce.

The husband attempted to sell the painting at a regional auction house, but an official from the Belluno museum spotted it and confirmed that it is on the "most wanted" lists of authorities, including Interpol and the Italian Carabinieri.

The COVID-19 lockdown prevented Italian authorities from providing the relevant documents to British authorities, and the painting was returned to dae Dozsa, who has kept it until now.

Italian specialist art lawyer Christopher Marinello has repeatedly attempted to persuade de Dozsa to return the painting, saying it was "the right thing to do," however, the woman cited the Limitation Act 1980 which stipulates that an individual who acquires stolen goods may be acknowledged as the lawful owner if the transaction occurred independently of the theft and a period exceeding six years has passed.

“Her first argument was that when the British police gave her the painting back, they gave her good title. So I wrote to the police, and they sent her a formal letter saying ‘by no means do we convey title to the painting," Marinello said.

Police forces said that handing the painting back to de Dozsa was a "failure of law enforcement to help the Italians out," noting that British police "said that this woman didn’t commit a crime, so we’re not going to treat it as a criminal matter. It’s a civil case.”

Marinello, the founder of Art Recovery International, an organization dedicated to recovering stolen or looted art with bases in London, Venice, and New York, has previously recovered a Matisse painting that was taken from Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art in 1987 and remained missing for 25 years until it unexpectedly resurfaced in London.

The lawyer is not working for a fee, as his conviction is that the painting belongs to the people of Belluno, while stating that there is a moral argument for the woman to return the painting, citing that she did not like the painting enough to even hang it on the wall.

He pointed that the woman, who spent around 7,500 dollars on legal fees, claimed she would hand the painting over should they reimburse her for them, however, when an insurance company donated the money, she changed her mind and asked for the full price of the painting, estimated to be around 70,000 to 90,000 US dollars.

"She refuses to cooperate unless she gets paid the full value, but she can never sell the painting. No legitimate auction house will ever touch it. The Carabinieri have it on their database and will never take it off. As soon as that painting goes to Italy, it’s going to be seized," Marinello said.

Norfolk constabulary stated that Norfolk police, following advice from the UKCA [UK Central Authority], have been directed to return the painting to Mrs. De Dozsa due to the passage of several years and the absence of a response from Italian authorities regarding the investigation, clarifying that while the painting has been returned, this action does not constitute a judicial decision granting legal ownership.