Columbus, OH – An Ohio man says he had no idea an 18th-century painting hanging in his home for over 20 years had been looted from a Polish museum by the Nazis during World War II.
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John Bobb, of Westerville, learned that history when the FBI’s Cincinnati office called in July.
Bobb says he thought the painting was just a good example of Baroque art, one of his favorite periods. He bought the artwork from an American serviceman’s family in 1990 and says his research on it went cold.
The “Portrait of a Young Man” by Krzysztof Lubieniecki (keh-ZHISH’-tahf loo-beh-NEECH’-kee) had been stolen from the National Museum in Warsaw in 1944. It’s been returned to Polish officials.
Bobb’s wife, Janis, says they enjoyed the work but believe it belongs in the Polish museum.