Family recognized stolen Rockwell painting by pool-cue hole
PHILADELPHIA — A family who lost a Norman Rockwell painting in a burglary at their home over 40 years ago got it back Friday and knew for sure it was theirs because of a scrape and hole the exact size of the butt-end of a pool cue.
The 1919 painting, valued at $1 million and known as “Taking a Break” and “Lazybones,” was returned to members of the Grant family by FBI art-crimes agents in Philadelphia. The piece was one of a number of items stolen from the family’s home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, during the June 30, 1976, break-in.
After the FBI recently went to the media with a story of the missing painting in hopes of generating tips, an antiques dealer who had the painting hanging in his home for nearly four decades came forward.
The dealer, whose name has not been released, had thought the painting was just a copy and couldn’t manage to sell it, U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said.