Stolen da Vinci Returns to Scotland Gallery

After being swiped from the wall of the National Gallery in Scotland, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Madonna of the Yarnwinder” returned to its original home among other Italian masterpieces. Though the work was discovered undamaged in a Glasgow law firm’s offices, how it got there remains a mystery after disappearing from the Crumlanrig Castle, home to the Dukes of Buccleuch, on August 23, 2003. Eight men have since been charged with the theft, but have yet to be tried. The rarely privately owned painting was the 9th duke’s prized possession—so much so that he transferred it with him to each of his three homes. Four years after the artwork went missing, the duke passed away and just weeks later, his treasured painting was recovered. His son, the 10th duke, lent the masterpiece to the National Gallery, where it will stay in his newly acquired 16th century frame for at least two years. “It is like a wonderful Christmas present,” said gallery director Michael Clarke of the nearly $80 million work.