''Fruits on a Table'' or ''Still Life with Apples and Grapes'' (''Nature Morte a la Comptesse de N'') is a

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...

painting by French artist

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

painted in 1889. It was one of two works stolen from the private collection of Terence F. Kennedy in London in June 1970 and recovered by the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

in Italy in April 2014.

Description

The painting depicts two bowls of brightly coloured apples and grapes, on a fringed white linen cloth, on a wooden table, with a small dog sleeping on the floor in the background. It is signed and dedicated "a la Comptesse De N (Nimal)".

Provenance

The painting, along with

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist grou ...

's ''Woman With Two Armchairs'' (''La Femme Aux Deux Fauteuils''), was stolen from the flat of widower Terence F. Kennedy (whose wife Mathilda died in 1964) at

Chester Terrace Chester Terrace is one of the neo-classical terraces in Regent's Park, London. The terrace has the longest unbroken facade in Regent's Park, of about . It takes its name from one of the titles of George IV before he became king, Earl of Cheste ...

, in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

on June 6, 1970. Press reports at the time said that Kennedy's housekeeper was duped by three men, one posing as a policeman and the others as burglar alarm engineers, and that they cut the paintings from their frames while she was making them tea. After the theft, the paintings are alleged to have been smuggled through France on the Paris-to-Turin train, and then to have turned up in the lost-and-found railway depot in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. It is said they were auctioned in 1975 and that a worker at the Fiat Factory bought the paintings for a small sum.

Recovery

The paintings are said to have remained in the factory worker's kitchen until an art expert's evaluation in 2014. Once they were identified the

took the paintings into custody. Under Italian law the factory worker could have a right to keep them if he could prove that he bought them in good faith. In December 2014 they were returned to him by a court in Rome. Simultaneously, the sole and universal heir of the original owner, Terence F. Kennedy, was found and has since made his claim to title.Article in Antiques Trade Gazette
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References

{{Paul Gauguin Paintings by Paul Gauguin 1889 paintings Still life paintings Dogs in art Stolen works of art