Auction House Recovers Two Stolen Eastman Johnson Paintings
Two 19th-century works by Eastman Johnson, stolen from New York City galleries in 1978, have been located and returned to their rightful owners.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Fine Art
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers recovered two Eastman Johnson paintings, Mary and Her Lamb and The Young Mother, that were stolen from Kenneth Lux Gallery and Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New York City in 1978. The works were returned to their rightful owners after the stolen status was confirmed.
Why it matters
The recovery reunites two works by Johnson, who lived from 1824 to 1906, with their owners after nearly five decades. It also shows how a catalogue raisonné and a stolen-art database can help trace long-missing artwork.
The recovery came 48 years after the 1978 theft, with the stolen status confirmed through the Art Loss Register, the world's largest database of stolen art. The circumstances of how the works left the galleries and who held them in the interim remain unreported.
The players
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers is a Milford, Connecticut auction house that received the paintings for handling before their return.
Eastman Johnson
Eastman Johnson (1824–1906) was a 19th-century American painter whose works are documented in an online catalogue raisonné.
Art Loss Register
The Art Loss Register is the world's largest database of stolen art, used to verify whether works have been reported stolen.
The details
Brandon Levine, who identified two paintings in an estate collection as potentially by Johnson, consulted the online catalogue raisonné at www.eastmanjohnson.org after contacting Shannon's. Sandra Germain confirmed the stolen status with the Art Loss Register and arranged for the paintings to be brought to Shannon's before their return to their rightful owners.
Timeline
April 27, 1978: Mary and Her Lamb is listed as stolen from Kenneth Lux Gallery.
May 6, 1978: A Hirschl & Adler letter reports The Young Mother stolen.
November 3, 2026: The recovery of the paintings is reported.
Legacy Trail
The recovery follows the Art Loss Register's role as the standard database used to verify stolen artwork, which allowed the 1978 thefts to be matched to works found in an estate collection. The case shows how catalogue raisonné records and this database can work together to trace artwork reported stolen decades earlier.
Readers interested in Johnson's work can view his paintings through the online catalogue raisonné. The recovered works have been returned to their owners, so they are not currently available for public viewing.
The takeaway
Long-missing artwork can still be traced when records are checked against both a catalogue raisonné and a stolen-art database. Owners and collectors can use these resources to verify the history of works they hold.
Further reading
For more on the artists and works behind this recovery, browse the Fine Art section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Maineantiquedigest.
