Kherson Art Museum identifies two more paintings stolen by Russians

The Kherson Art Museum has identified two more paintings stolen by the Russian occupiers from their collection.

As the museum posted on its Facebook page, they found their exhibits in a photo from the Simferopol Central Museum of Tavrida.

"We continue to work with one of the photographs taken on 1 April 2023 at the Central Museum of Tavrida in Simferopol during the signing of a criminal ‘agreement’ on the storage of stolen works of art there. Among the monumental paintings behind the back of one of the participants in this illegal deal, we managed to identify two canvases," the Kherson Art Museum states.

Oleksandr Kuzmenko, the so-called culture minister of Kherson Oblast, and Andrii Malhin, the director of the Central Museum of Tavrida in Simferopol, during the signing of an illegal deal. Photo: the Kherson Art Museum on Facebook

Fragments of the identified paintings. Photo: the Kherson Art Museum on Facebook

This time, the Kherson museum workers recognised the following works from their collection: a painting by Latvian artist Karlis Dobrajs "Restorers" (1962), presented by the author to the museum in Kherson in 2017, and a painting by Ukrainian artist Leonid Labenok "In the Hills" (1969).

Leonid Labenok "In the Hills" (1969). Photo: the Kherson Art Museum on Facebook

"It is extremely painful to report the theft of Mr Karlis's works because we tried to include his paintings in the exhibitions at every opportunity, as they always attracted attention and aroused admiration," the museum added.

Karlis Dobrajs "Restorers" (1962). Photo: the Kherson Art Museum on Facebook

The museum has also reminded that they had previously identified the series "Elements in the Modern World" by Kherson artist Kateryna Mikhalchenko (Shaiarova) in a photo that was spread by Russians.

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