<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A historic painting of George Washington is back in proper hands more than a year after an art theft in Colorado.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The painting, a valuable copy on reverse glass of a well-known image painted by American artist Gilbert Stuart, was turned over to Englewood police after a tip to Crime Stoppers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think this painting is amazing. It's really high quality," said Englewood Police Detective Christian Contos.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The painting is done on glass, explained Monica Brown, managing director of fine arts for Freeman's | Hindman, an auction and appraisal company.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-person-tayla-spies-queensland-mother-of-three-missing-in-outback-for-two-months/02480e8f-703c-4f67-8004-05cdbf1cd434" rel="" target="" title="Young mum still missing two months after vanishing in Queensland outback"><strong><span>Young mum still missing two months after vanishing in Queensland outback</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brown looked up the history of the painting and explained that the original was purchased by an American captain who took it to Guangzhou, China, in 1798. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There unnamed Chinese artists created about 100 copies. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/stolen-painting-of-president-george-washington-recovered-after-burglary/52985c42-1f62-4723-a75a-190b1a0b84a3" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He brought them back in the early 1800s and sold them when interest in patriotic-themed art was strong. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Only about six are known to exist today. Four are in museums, and a couple of others are in private hands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Chinese artists used the reverse glass painting technique, with large sheets of imported European glass as the canvas," explained Brown. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The front is glass and smooth. Like a mirror, if the back were scratched, it could potentially be seen through on the other side.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The value could vary widely on condition and whether it had much of a story to go with it Brown explained, like it had been owned by a famous person.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But art and mementos of the Founding Fathers are solid sellers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All of those founding fathers are very marketable. They're market darlings, you could almost say," she said. She thought the value at retail could range from US$60,000 (A$96,000) to $150,000 (A$240,000).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/andre-rebelo-life-sentence-for-son-who-killed-mother-and-tried-to-claim-insurance-money/aa30e8a7-80f1-451e-833e-140e06b68076" rel="" target="" title="Life sentence for son who killed mum and tried to claim insurance money"><strong><span>Life sentence for son who killed mum and tried to claim insurance money</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The painting had been stolen from a storage unit in an Englewood storage facility in January of 2024. The trail had gone cold. When he started pursuing the case, Contos was in new territory.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'll preface that by saying this was the first art theft that I've ever worked," he said. He contacted the FBI's Art Crime team for advice. There were different avenues to pursue and clues to check on. The painting was added to the database at the National Stolen Art File. Art dealers and appraisers like Brown's firm check paintings through the database to ensure art is not stolen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Contos took information from the Crime Stoppers tip in which a person mentioned two names they said were associated with the missing painting and eventually had a phone conversation with a person who said he had the missing artwork.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/04/01/10/33/today-in-history-april-2-what-happened-on-this-day-oscars-streaker"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/hJtwL0D7nFCffZtOfAUS2GrV3jQ=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa13aaeca-143b-4eab-bb36-bfebb568aeea" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/hJtwL0D7nFCffZtOfAUS2GrV3jQ=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa13aaeca-143b-4eab-bb36-bfebb568aeea 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/LdcHX2izXxgqWxvmfAHkZSnSVnM=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa13aaeca-143b-4eab-bb36-bfebb568aeea 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The tragic end of the naked man who stunned the Oscars</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/04/01/10/33/today-in-history-april-2-what-happened-on-this-day-oscars-streaker">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He said he had had it for almost a year. That at the time he was staying in a hotel and a hotel employee gave him the painting saying they found it in a room abandoned that they were cleaning." But they didn't offer a lot. "They would not tell me where the hotel was or the person who worked for the hotel gave it to him."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Contos wanted it back, but the person possessing it was worried about possibly being arrested.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That type of negotiation went on for like two weeks. Back and forth. Multiple phone calls, multiple texts," said Contos.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The detective said he had no reason to doubt the story he got about the discovery of the painting in a hotel. There was no arrest when the painting was turned over to the police.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It adds up to Brown as well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you're stealing something out of a storage unit, are you really thinking that you're going to find an expensive painting?" Brown wondered. It's possible the thief did not know its value and abandoned it after realising the trouble it might be. Stolen art is not exactly something that can be easily posted for sale on the internet.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2021/07/01/15/37/art-thefts-heists-missing-paintings-portraits-most-valuable-stolen-rembrandt-picasso-monet"><img alt="These paintings are currently missing and worth a fortune." sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/jTZjDSkD97HWWfyCPYsGbfi9nug=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd09018a7-e15e-4d48-a793-2c55aa016939" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/jTZjDSkD97HWWfyCPYsGbfi9nug=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd09018a7-e15e-4d48-a793-2c55aa016939 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/6GWUFtbu_L_uFNrJ_rV84uAZiKY=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd09018a7-e15e-4d48-a793-2c55aa016939 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The most valuable stolen artworks currently at large</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2021/07/01/15/37/art-thefts-heists-missing-paintings-portraits-most-valuable-stolen-rembrandt-picasso-monet">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There certain art heists where the theory is that it would then go onto the black market, but it's not something that can trade publicly," she noted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police say, fortunately, the artwork does not appear to have significant damage other than some frame damage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The painting's owner is thrilled said Contos. But technically, the painting now belongs to an insurance company that paid the owner a claim, and what happens to it will be up to the insurance company.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Back in proper hands, it is now a painting with a story. And detective Contos said he liked the idea of getting his own copy of the work to put up in his office.</span></div></div>