Spielberg and the Case of the Stolen Rockwell

Mon., Mar. 5, 2007 2:34 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

As Indiana Jones might say: "It belongs in a museum."

A Norman Rockwell oil painting pilfered from a St. Louis-area art gallery more than 30 years ago was found Friday in the private collection belonging to Professor Jones' cocreator, Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg's publicist, Marvin Levy, says the Oscar winner purchased the 16-by-37-inch oil-on-canvas work known as Russian Schoolroom from a legitimate art dealer in 1989 without realizing the piece was stolen.

"The FBI has a Website directed for the art world and one of our people periodically looks at that and spotted [the paiting] and said, 'I think that's one of Steven's,' and that was it," Levy tells E! Online. "They quickly checked and called the FBI who said, 'It is ours and we'll come and verify it.' "

The feds put out an APB on Russian Schoolroom after launching an art crime. Laura Eimiller, a bureau spokeswoman, says that as part of that new initiative, the team reopened some cold cases and posted photos of stolen artwork, including sculptures and paintings, on the FBI's Website to generate leads.

Investigators had also begun contacting a number of Rockwell collectors to see if Russian Schoolroom had unwittingly ended up in their possession.

Russian Schoolroom, whose value is estimated to be between $700,000 and $1 million, portrays children in a classroom staring at a bust of Vladimir Lenin. It was swiped from a small art gallery in Clayton, Missouri, in a late-night burglary in June 1973 and wasn't seen until 1988, when it surfaced at an auction in New Orleans and sold for $70,000.

Spielberg bought the painting lawfully from a private dealer the following year, after it was exhibited in New York City.

An avid fan of the artist/illustrator, Spileberg sits on the board of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

"Rockwell sums up the Americana spirit, and Steven grew up looking at a lot of these. [Rockwell]s an artist [Spielberg] obviously likes and admires," says Levy.

Eimiller stresses that the filmmaker is cooperating fully with the FBI and is considered an "unknowing victim" in the case.

The FBI has not charged anyone in connection with the theft. Agents are working with investigators in St. Louis to trace the painting's journey from the gallery to Spielberg's wall.

Special Agent Chris Calarco, an investigator on the FBI's art theft unit, accompanied by Jessica Todd Smith, the curator of American art for the Huntington Library in Pasadena, visited Spielberg's offices at Universal Studios on Friday to confirm the authenticity of Russian Schoolroom. Spielberg was not present for the inspection.

Eimiller says the painting will remain with the movie mogul until such time as "its disposition can be ascertained."

"Obviously it will be safe there," adds Eimiller.

When he's not unearthing a lost Rockwell, Spielberg is rediscovering an old friend. For his next directorial effort, Spielberg's reuniting with pals Harrison Ford and George Lucas for the long-awaited fourth installment of Indiana Jones, which starts filming this June and is set to be released by Paramount May 22, 2008.