Did an ex-Gallery attendant – a student of the Glasgow School Of Art – copy the Duke’s portrait and pass it off as the original in 1965 after the original had been absent for almost four years?

And does a book manuscript, lost for over 50 years, written by this same gallery attendant in the 1960s, and together with other clues and evidence, connect him to Kempton Bunton and the theft ransom and return of the Duke of Wellington’s portrait, 1961 to 1965?

This is not a hoax, scam, practical joke, April fool or Internet conspiracy however outrageous, even scandalous, it may sound.

And I have to admit, that as I put the pieces of the puzzle together, I found it hard to accept where they were leading me!

Will you arrive at the same conclusions?

The clues and evidence I have discovered will be posted on this blog that seeks to answer three questions.

1. Was this attendant, employed at the National Gallery in 1961, in league with Kempton Bunton to steal, ransom and return the portrait of the Duke of Wellington?

2. Did he copy the Duke of Wellington’s portrait?

3. Was the picture recovered in 1965 his copy, that then went back on display where it remains to this day in Room 39 at The National Gallery in London?

There is of course a fourth question. If the above is true, what happened to the original picture, bought for the nation at great cost?

Which, incidentally, some art experts in 1965, thought was not by Goya’s hand in the first place! But more about that later.

So, if you are interested in art theft, and in particular the totally bizarre story of the theft of the Duke of Wellington’s portrait in 1961, the only picture ever to have been stolen from The National Gallery, then read on!

In parallel to writing this blog, an ebook – If That’s A Goya I’m A Virgin! – is also being written based on material in this blog. This will be available from Amazon in due course.

Depending on public interest and demand, the lost 50 year old manuscript called  – The Toilet Of Venus – written by this ex-National Gallery employee in the 1960s, will also be made available. Either through myself, as an independent publication, or via an established publisher.

After 50 years, it’s time his book, The Toilet Of Venus, finally saw the light of day.