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Press and Journal
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Exclusive: Inside council's frantic search for £13m masterpiece missing from Peterhead as global panic 'throws bosses into the fire'
Panic erupted within Aberdeenshire Council as theories were flung about, accusations issued and dusty records ransacked when it emerged the authority had completely lost track of an Italian masterpiece worth millions. Paolo Veronese painted the massive Pool of Bethesda in Venice in the 16th century and the valuable piece was later shown off on Catherine The Great's Russian palace walls. Ultimately, the 6ft by 12ft painting ended up being displayed in Peterhead's Arbuthnot Museum by the end of the 19th century. How it got there is a story in itself, but it remains one with an ending mired in mystery. Nobody has any idea where it is now. That's if it still exists. And if it does, experts say it would be worth about £13m. In 2022, Australian academics thrust the vanished Veronese into the spotlight as they launched a search for the piece due to its Melbourne connections. But Aberdeenshire Council has since been tight-lipped on its own efforts to right the historic wrong and solve the 'puzzle of international significance'. Now, using Freedom of Information legislation, we can paint a picture of the internal strife at the local authority as word of the missing artwork spread… And we find out exactly what the council has been doing to provide some answers now more than three years since the saga first hit the headlines. The missing painting has quite a past… Painted in Venice in the 16th century, where it hung until the mid 1700s. It went on sale in London in 1764. And was picked up by Catherine The Great, Empress of Russia, who may have hung it in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. In the 1790s it was given to Aberdeen University lecturer Alexander Baxter. By 1868 it came into the hands of Robert Black, thought to have travelled to Melbourne with it, where it was displayed in public. In 1882, James Volum shipped it to its last known home – Peterhead. The wealthy brewer James wanted to gift the valuable painting to his hometown in the final years of his life. And it hung in the Arbuthnot Museum for decades, with seemingly few aware of its importance as the years went by. It wasn't until 2022, when flabbergasted academics from the University of Melbourne launched an international hunt for it that it once again became a talking point in the north-east. The Australians first contacted the council about it in January that year. An email between staff in the Aberdeenshire Council museums department from January 29 reveals some early concern about the issue – but one worker did claim to have 'found several clues'. It states: 'We have had an inquiry all the way from Australia regarding a 'lost' painting that once hung in the Arbuthnot Museum. 'Have you ever come across anything regarding The Pool of Bethesda by Veronese? 'We have found several clues.' Over the next few weeks, more would emerge as panicked staff tried to peer through the mists of time to find out just how something so valuable could disappear. This museum worker adds that an image confirmed it to be hanging in the Blue Toon museum in 'the early 20th century'. And the employee revealed some frustration that this academic report from Australia would soon be published online. 'We have been thrown into the fire there with no opportunity to review this publication or look into it on our end,' they fumed. The following day, a reply arrived from a council worker expressing some sympathy surrounding the publication of the news down under. They say: 'Doesn't it really make your heart sink when you get blindsided like this? 'I never came across a painting in the collections by Veronese.' But they also explain that they had previously compiled a catalogue detailing paintings at the Arbuthnot Museum that had been 'lost by 1975'. 'I cannot recall if Pool of Bethesda is among those lost paintings,' they add. This worker, who seems to know their stuff about Arbuthnot artefacts, signs off by offering to meet up at the council's Mintlaw museums HQ for further discussion. 'It might be helpful to you in finding some of the files I have mentioned, and it might also be useful for you in picking my brains on anything else while I am there.' The offer was duly accepted, with senior staff also to attend the talks as the mystery sent ripples across the local authority. Another email arrives at this time. Names have been redacted but it appears to be from an individual with a long-term memory of the council's practices. They warn: 'Mind you, in the terrible 1970s they SOLD lots of stuff – and things disappeared, I was told.' The University of Melbourne emails on January 31, 2022, offering some more ideas. They say: 'I suspect it went out on loan early on, to a church, a civic office, where it languished unrecognised and unloved.' A reporter from The Press and Journal gets in touch about the picture too (the name has been redacted but I can reveal it was me). I was looking for an interview with someone from the museums team who was leading the hunt for the missing masterpiece. But the approach appeared to spark some concern when the communications department approached bosses about it. A fraught email from top brass sought some assistance on the matter. It stated: 'I need to ask for some help, in confidence, from you both on an inquiry that will be all too familiar – potential 'bad news' stories around lost/missing collections. '[The painting] was 12ft by 6ft in size so not easy to lose you would think. 'We need to go through any papers we can find here to see what might have happened to it, but our papers are not so easy to search at the moment. 'However, I know that a lot of material was given to other museums in the 50s–70s when the librarian-curators at Peterhead 'rationalised' the collections. 'Please don't share more widely for now as I would like to keep this fairly low key until we have a clearer idea what happened (or can say categorically that there are no records of what happened to it). 'I am trying to manage quietly.' On February 2, Aberdeen City Council gets involved. The Aberdeen authority suggested the National Gallery of Scotland might have it. They added: 'Def worth asking if they hold such a work even if you don't say why at this stage (followed by a 'winking' emoji).' Aberdeen's archives team scoured any records for clues, but didn't find any. They suggested: 'There was certainly a practice of farming out to civic offices when a pieces was too big, 'permanent loans' to benefactors or landed gentry and swapping.' Aberdeen City Council offers help with 'further digging' into minutes from committee meetings. There's an exchange on Teams on February 3, with one employee racking their brain for an expert to help out… They say: 'There was a lecturer at Aberdeen Uni considered to be a bit of an international expert in Veronese. 'I am FURIOUSLY trying to remember his name.' They later add that this academic might actually have been an expert in Caravaggio. Later that day, there appears to be a twist in the tale. One message reads: 'it's about us losing a Venetian masterpiece painting.' The reply states: 'Whaaat.' But then emerges the claim: 'It wasn't really us who lost it.' What this indicates is unclear, as thus far nobody appears to know anything about the painting. Never mind who was responsible for losing it. Top official Avril Nicol then requests councillors be briefed on the unfolding saga. She wants everyone to be aware of the 'actions that we need to take forward to help find the painting'. Head of education Laurence Findlay then sends a report on the issue to chief executive Jim Savege on February 7. The Press and Journal's first article on the missing painting is published on February 6, 2022. And the following day, having read our article, a reporter from The Times gets in touch about it. The spotlight seems to spur on some extra efforts. An Aberdeenshire worker is back in touch with Aberdeen City Council on February 8. They must have been doing overtime on the issue, as this email is sent at 11.52pm… They write: 'Now the quest for the Veronese is public….. Can I follow up on your offer of a wee bit of help from someone to look at the archives for us? We've looked at digitised copies we have here of the Peterhead Library/Museum minutes and checked most of them but there some issues we have encountered. 'We are missing the whole run from 1936 to 1957, and for all the others, we don't seem to have the text of the curators' reports to committee which I think is the thing that probably holds the full acquisitions / disposal info.' So what DO they know, by this point? Now about a week into the search, Aberdeenshire Council officials suspect the painting was 'probably safe' in the Peterhead museum until 1949… They add: 'The family were strong supporters of artists and knew the value of artworks it seems, and it would be unlikely they would remove it (although nothing is ever impossible).' There followed a 'period of significant change', though, culminating in lots being removed to Royal Museum Edinburgh and Aberdeen University in the 1960s and 1970s. The email continues: 'We wonder if that is the most likely timeframe for it vanishing. 'There is also a small chance it could have been removed for safety in the war, and then misplaced, hence why tracking down the 1936-1957 minutes would be useful.' Investigators also explored the theory of the Veronese painting being stored in Peterhead's Arbuthnot House. But, this email adds: 'I am struggling (having poked round most corners of that building for another project) to see where they could have been 'stored'. 'I am suspicious that there might have been under pavement storage at the rear of the building, where a door is now blocked from the house but looks like the typical Georgian cellar arrangement under yards etc. 'I was wondering if the archives hold any plans or drawings of Arbuthnot House? 'Appreciate some of the above may be a long shot but as your guys know the archives better than we do I suspect they may be able to point us more quickly where we need to go?' The Aberdeen historians pledged to trawl their records for 'anything relating to the painting', and even look out the Arbuthnot House blueprints for any hidden storage areas. While Aberdeen archivists were examining the layout of the building to see if the masterpiece was in some underground bunker, Aberdeenshire experts studied the museum's past management. And some suspicion is thrown on a Mr Scott – who ran the facility from 1898 to 1911, but apparently wasn't a fan of the artwork. A written note was discovered where he 'recommends that it be insured only for a few hundred pounds'. He 'was not sure of the provenance and doesn't believe it very good'. The email, sent in February 2022, suggests 'there is a possibility that it may have been disposed of in/around his tenure if he (or his wife or daughter) believed it worthless?' And, even if it survived Mr Scott's disapproval, there's a theory that a painting depicting a miracle in the Holy Land would not have fit in at the Peterhead venue in later decades. From 1949 to 1975, two successive librarian-curators 'sought to change the nature of the displays at the Arbuthnot significantly'. The email states: 'They focused on local history, particularly whaling, shipping and fishing, and material which they felt to be 'surplus to requirements' was sold, given away or disposed of. 'Some taxidermy and geology is known to have gone to Aberdeen University's geology department and to Peterhead Academy. 'Other material was taken by the RSM in Edinburgh but none of them mention the painting in listings they make of artefacts.' By February 15, Aberdeen City Council archive experts have responded with building plans for Arbuthnot House… The trail seems to grow cold at this point, and there is no further mention of it being secreted under the town's pavements. On March 20, the Aussie arthounds are back in touch asking if any breakthroughs have been made. And on April 4, I'm checking in again. Around this time, Australian art aficionados were growing impatient. One professor told The P&J: 'It would be astonishing, indeed scandalous, if such a large, important and extremely valuable item had simply disappeared without trace. 'Even if – God forbid! – it was simply sent to the tip, this ought to have been recorded by both the museum and the town council.' And in September, Melbourne academics again seek further info. 'Is it hanging in a Scottish castle or a church? I am longing to know.' In May 2023, 15 months into the saga, another 'long shot' piece of speculation on the missing painting arrives in Aberdeenshire Council's inbox. Did a local luminary have it painted over – with a portrait of HIMSELF? This email states: 'I have traced back that the picture was seen in early 1904. 'In 1899 a provost Leask was appointed, prior to his appointment he was the foremost person in Peterhead, believed to be the richest, most powerful person of this time. 'He was not a man to be crossed as local recant.' It continues: 'In 1895, he commissioned a portrait of himself which is still in hands of Aberdeenshire Museums. I would like to find out if this was painted on part of Veronese' s canvas. 'Among some of the 'stories' is that although a church attender he was not keen on icons like paintings. He was manager of many Peterhead institutions, Masonic lodges and committees.' This informant also wonders if the painting was placed in a private home for protection during the Second World War – and left there. Council chiefs appear doubtful this was the case. So now, more than three years into the search, I checked again on where things stand… An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman last night confirmed that the 'last known physical record' of the missing painting being in the museum comes from 1905. He added: 'Museums staff have been interrogating documentation from the 1900s onwards. 'Unfortunately there is, as yet, no useful information to explain what happened next to the painting.' Are Aberdeen St Nicholas Kirk saviours taking over Peterhead's Carnegie building? Revealed: New Peterhead museum will showcase Annie Lennox, 'weird and wonderful' relics and stories of Aberdeenshire
Press and Journal
30-04-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Are Aberdeen St Nicholas Kirk saviours taking over Peterhead's Carnegie building?
A new operator is poised to breathe fresh life into Peterhead's historic Carnegie Building – and the clues suggest it could be the group at work transforming an Aberdeen landmark. Aberdeenshire Council started looking for a new group to run the St Peter Street venue last summer. Dating back to the 1890s, it was most recently the home of the library and Arbuthnot Museum. But it is set to be transformed into a major new arts and cultural venue as part of the Blue Toon's ongoing Cultural Quarter project. Under the plan, Peterhead library and the museum will be moved to the refurbished and extended Arbuthnot House on Broad Street – freeing up the 19th century site. Plans are expected to be submitted to Aberdeenshire Council next month by the unknown operator showing proposed works to the much-loved site. But who is the 'mystery' group expected to take the reins of the Carnegie Building? All signs suggest it could be Scot-Art, the Edinburgh-based charity behind plans to reopen the historic St Nicholas Kirk in the heart of Aberdeen city centre. The urban regeneration group was recently given the go-ahead to turn the A-listed West Kirk there into a multi-purpose venue. The church, also known as the Mither Kirk, will be used to host various entertainment events and provide support to those in need. At an Aberdeen planning meeting last week, charity boss Iain Sneddon revealed the organisation had plans for a second venue in the north-east – only this time in Peterhead. However, the tight-lipped head was careful not to say too much – hinting that such an added operation would help fund the Aberdeen work. He explained that the charity had agreed terms for a 20-year lease of a building in the town, but did not let slip where. Mr Sneddon also said the organisation was pushing towards the lease being 'tightened up' in the next six weeks. It came at roughly the same time as Buchan councillors were given an update on the major Peterhead project. They were told that the preferred operator would use the Carnegie Building as a studio space and meeting area for 'creative workers and community organisations'. This could mean the historic site would open its doors to various groups, charities and start-up businesses. Council papers revealed the Carnegie Building will become a 'hub for cultural, recreational, and entrepreneurial exchange'. They also stated that a 'diverse' programmes of workshops, exhibitions and events would be held in the venue from 9am to 9pm. An application for funding to repair the building has been submitted to Historic Environment Scotland and is expected to be confirmed in the summer. Scot-Art has been approached for comment.
