Almost 35 years ago in Glasgow, a band of thieves broke into Haggs Castle Museum of Childhood and stole a treasure trove of artworks that were never seen again. A single painting from the daring heist has now mysteriously reappeared at an auction.

“We’re delighted to have a work returned, even though the theft was a very long time ago,” said the Head of Museums and Collections at Glasgow Life, Duncan Dornan. “The pain of it still persists – and there’s a loss to the public in Glasgow.”

In 1989, thieves deactivated the museum’s alarm system and climbed into the building through up an upstairs window. They stole a large collection of art, some of which had been on loan from the world-famous Burrell Collection. By 2014, the museum had registered the lost artworks on the Art Loss Register (ALR), the world’s largest private database of stolen art, antiques, and collectables; the thieves remain at large to this day.

One of the stolen artworks, Children Wading, was painted in 1918 at Carnoustie in Angus by the Scottish artist Robert Gemmell Hutchison (1855-1936). It sensitively depicts two young children playing on the shoreline as a toy boat gently sails past. Hutchison’s charming painting resurfaced in November last year, when an unsuspecting family cosigned it for sale at Tennants Auctioneers in North Yorkshire. Upon learning about the heist, the family immediately handed over the piece, which had formed part of their late father’s estate.

Tennants Auctioneers worked with ALR to succesfully identify the artwork. Lucy O’Meara, a recoveries specialist at ALR, said “we are very pleased that this sweet picture will be returned to public view.” It will now be on display at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

Rosie Adcock from the law firm Boodle Hatfield explained to the BBC that “under the law, if a good-faith purchaser – so that’s somebody who bought the artwork in good faith and without knowledge of the theft – bought the artwork more than six years ago, then in the eyes of the law, they are now the owner of that artwork,” she explained. “The original owner will not have a claim against that person any more, because more than six years has passed. The original owner does still have their claim against the thief. And although they won’t get their artwork back, they can claim against them for the value of that artwork. But obviously this depends on identifying who that thief is, issuing proceedings against them, and hoping that they’ll be good for the money at the end of it.”

Commenting further, Rosie explains “while it may be surprising that 6 years after a good faith purchase the new possessor can legally be regarded as the owner, the law is attempting to strike a balance between the rights of the original victim, and the rights of an innocent purchaser who genuinely had no idea the artwork was stolen.”