It was the largest and most audacious art heist Scotland had ever seen. Two men signed up for a guided tour of Drumlanrig Castle and then, with breathtaking audacity, set off for one of the world’s most prized paintings – Leonardo Da Vinci’s Madonna and Child with the Yarn Winder.
After threatening to kill one of the tour guides, the robbers simply ripped the £50million artwork off the wall, climbed out a window, dashed down a flight of stairs, ran across the grass and escaped in a getaway van.
But while the audacity of the thieves was remarkable, what was even more extraordinary was the sequence of events – involving shady underworld figures, private detectives and undercover cops – that finally led to the 16th-century masterpiece being destroyed after several years returned to its aristocratic owners.
One of only two privately owned Da Vinci paintings, the Madonna with the Threadroller was the most valuable work of art ever stolen in Britain.
Now, two decades after the theft from the Duke of Buccleuch’s ancestral home shocked the art world, the tour guide, whose life was threatened by the thieves, has for the first time fully recounted her horrifying ordeal.
It was the largest and most audacious art heist Scotland had ever seen. Two men signed up for a guided tour of Drumlanrig Castle and then, with breathtaking audacity, set off for one of the world’s most prized paintings – Leonardo Da Vinci’s Madonna and Child with the Yarn Winder
Dumfries and Galloway distributed CCTV footage of the suspects – two men posing as visitors
Alison Russell, then 18, described being overpowered by two members of the tour party, dressed in hats and glasses and armed with an axe.
She said, “One put his hand over my mouth and said, ‘Get on the floor or we’ll kill you.'”
They wore hats and glasses. I don’t know if I would recognize her
“I remember even then thinking, ‘That’s weird.’ That doesn’t seem real. What’s going on here?’, then I thought, ‘I’m wondering if this is a test or practice run of something?’
“I don’t think I said anything at all. I was just shocked and just did what the guy said. I lay down and didn’t even look up afterwards.
“It seemed to happen very quickly – they obviously knew what they wanted and took the painting and then it went quiet.”
To date, the armed robbers have never been identified, let alone brought to justice.
However, the painting resurfaced four years later after it was given to Robert Graham, an English private detective whose attempts to get it back to the Buccleuch family led to him being charged with racketeering but later acquitted.
Now Mr Graham’s daughter Olivia has produced a podcast – released this week on the BBC – that revisits the incredible story behind the missing Madonna.
It contains the secret note her father made, which was used in court to prove the innocence of his intentions.
The saga began on Wednesday 27th August 2003 during a guided tour of Drumlanrig Castle near Thornhill in Dumfriesshire – one of the finest examples of 17th Century Renaissance architecture in Scotland.
The castle has large reception rooms, magnificent staircases and ornate historical features.
It also housed the Buccleuch family’s collection of antique furniture and silver, but the highlight was the art exhibition, including – hanging side by side in the stair gallery – Da Vinci’s Madonna and Rembrandt’s ‘An Old Woman Reading’.
500 year old masterpiece
The Madonna of the Threadwinder was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci between 1500 and 1508.
Measuring just 24 x 17 inches, it depicts a Christ child on a ledge next to his mother, gazing intently at the cruciform yarn winder.
It came to the Buccleuchs in 1767 with the marriage of the 3rd Duke to Lady Elizabeth Montagu, who inherited a collection of her parents’ works.
It is now on loan to the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
For Ms. Russell, the day began unremarkably. She said: “It started like any other day with working in the castle and informing where you will be stationed.”
“I was in the stairwell. You join in and you build up and you think, “That’s what I’m going to talk about today.” In the stairwell there was the Da Vinci painting and a Rembrandt painting and a Holbein painting and all these other great works of art.
For Ms Russell, now 38, what happened next is forever etched in her memory. She said: “I remember being quite surprised at how quickly these two men suddenly showed up.”
“Like everyone else, I started talking a little bit about the pictures and going through the normal chatter. I got the impression that they weren’t that interested, so I stood back a bit and let them look around for a bit.
“They were pretty well camouflaged. They also wore hats and glasses. It can distort the appearance quite a bit, so I don’t know if I would ever recognize her.’
When one of them entered the morning room and came right out again, Mrs. Russell suddenly got caught up in one of the most notorious art thefts of the century.
After throwing her to the ground, the thieves lifted the Madonna off the wall with an ax – which set off an alarm – then climbed out of a window and fled.
Ms Russell said, “I probably let it be quiet for a few seconds and then got up and looked around and they were gone.” It seemed like an eternity. I did not know, what I should do.
“I remember sneaking to the back windows in case someone jumped out again. The castle manager came by and said, ‘What happened?’ and I babbled and she ran back to sound the alarm.’
Ms. Russell recalled that another staff member came to comfort her. She said, “She walked me back to the front of the castle and I don’t think I actually said anything and she said, ‘It’s okay to cry,’ and I just burst into tears.”
The police arrived shortly afterwards. She said: “It was just a long wait and the police were doing interviews, swabs and all that trying to get DNA and they took all my clothes.”
Robbie Graham (pictured) and his friend John Doyle have shared the story of how they ended up being involved in the recovery of the £30million da Vinci masterpiece
Richard Dalkeith (second right), son of the Duke of Buccleuch, talks to police outside the Duke’s Castle Drumlanrig in Scotland, where a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna of the Yarnwinder, was stolen
“I had to call my mom to get me a change of clothes.”
“Even when I was on the phone with my mum, I didn’t want to panic her, so I downplayed it. “There was a theft at the castle, so…” and she told me afterwards that it only happened when she was in the car and listening to the radio that it was indeed a very big deal and that she was easily in panicked. I still don’t even feel like it actually happened. It feels like a dream.’
It wasn’t long before police discovered the white Golf GTi the thieves had used as a getaway car, abandoned and empty. But after that, the trail went cold. Even after the Madonna was placed on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list of stolen artworks, the Da Vinci work’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
For John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, the theft of a work of art his family had owned for more than 200 years was devastating, leaving the 79-year-old “distraught and disgusted”. The movements of the Madonna in recent years are unclear, but it is understood that the stolen painting changed hands in the criminal underworld before being used as part payment for a house.
In 2007 John Doyle, a private investigator from Liverpool, was approached by a billiards player in a local pub about a quality picture that could be obtained through an intermediary – at a certain price.
Mr. Doyle and his business partner Mr. Graham had founded Stolen Stuff Reunited, a company with the aim of returning items to their owners for a reward or finder’s fee.
Tour guide Alison Russell witnessed the Da Vinci heist
Private detectives Robbie Graham and Jack Doyle have recovered a stolen Leonardo Da Vinci painting ‘Madonna of the Yarn Winder’ from Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries
Together they imagined how big the publicity for their company would be if they returned a stolen Da Vinci. After hiring a lawyer, the group raised £350,000 – bundled in black sacks – to buy the painting from an unknown seller in a Merseyside pub car park.
They then contacted the claims adjuster who worked for the painting’s insurance company to negotiate a deal to return the painting. Unsurprisingly, the expert immediately called the police. An undercover agent was named as the point of contact, posing as the Duke of Buccleuch’s representative and agreeing to pay a “reward” of £4.25million.
People double harassed him. I don’t remember my father ever apologizing
A meeting was arranged at the offices of a Glasgow law firm. On his way north to deliver the painting, Mr Graham stopped at a hotel near Dumfries – where he posed for a photograph with the Madonna.
The handover took place in Glasgow the next day. But just as the two private investigators and their legal counsel were awaiting their reward, 14 officers burst in and arrested them.
However, the return of the painting, welcomed by the Buccleuch family, came too late for the elder duke, who had died just a month earlier.
Mr Doyle and Mr Graham later stood trial on racketeering charges. The case depended on whether the undercover cop had infiltrated an existing conspiracy or led them into a trap by offering a reward.
In 2010, they were acquitted at the end of an eight-week trial.
In the new podcast, Mr Graham’s daughter is broadcasting the secret recording he made of a meeting between himself and the undercover cop.
In the so-called ‘Euston Tape’, Mr Graham can be heard telling the man he believes to be the Duke’s representative that he would be willing to go to the police with the stolen painting if asked to do so.
Ultimately, that’s what convinced a jury in Edinburgh’s High Court that Mr Graham was not trying to extort money.
Last night Ms Graham, 35, explained how creating the podcast had convinced her that her father was not only innocent but also deserved a reward for his contribution to the return of the Da Vinci.
She said: “This was the first time I had heard the Euston tape that helped him and it was so interesting to look at old court documents and talk to people who were close to my father and knew him at the time.”
“My father passed away from cancer ten years ago, so it’s been a very emotional journey for me and a lot to process.”
“The story of the missing Madonna and my father’s involvement has so many twists and turns.” People betrayed him and I don’t recall my father apologizing from anyone.
“I’d love to get the reward money my dad is due, but you’re up against very big institutions.” I think if my dad hadn’t gotten sick he would have tried. “By telling this story, it was great to help people see my father in a different light.”
- A success tease of ‘The Missing Madonna’ is available on BBC Sounds – and the full series is available from Friday