STATEMENT FROM THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH
If I may I will make a short statement on behalf of the Buccleuch family. We were overjoyed to receive confirmation that the painting recovered in Glasgow was indeed the Madonna with the Yarnwinder, stolen in August 2003 from Drumlanrig Castle.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the police, to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and to others involved for having brought this about. The tenacity they have shown in pursuing the case for four years has been remarkable and we pay tribute to the skill and courage clearly demonstrated by this very satisfactory outcome. Our pleasure is inevitably tinged by sadness that my father, who died just a month ago, should not have lived to see the safe return of this wonderful work of art.
He was the most knowledgeable and conscientious steward of the family art collection and he minded deeply about its violent theft from Drumlanrig. It is worth remembering that the Leonardo was on public display at the time, as it had been at his instigation, for nearly three decades. He was dismayed that, not only he and his family, but the wider public would be denied the chance of drawing pleasure from it.
I would like to express gratitude to the National Gallery of Scotland and in particular the Director, Mr Michael Clarke, who travelled yesterday to Dumfries to verify the painting. It appears superficially to be in remarkably good condition but the Gallery has kindly agreed that it should go in the near future to its Conservation Department for closer examination.
Finally, although it will clearly require much thought and preparation, I should say that we are determined that the painting should once again go on public view to be enjoyed by the many thousands who we hope will come back to see it in its home at Drumlanrig.
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