March 04, 2007	Sunday	Safar 14, 1428

LOS ANGELES: A Norman Rockwell work stolen from suburban St. Louis more than three decades ago was found in Steven Spielberg’s art collection, the FBI announced.

The painting, Rockwell’s “Russian Schoolroom”, was snatched during a late-night burglary at a gallery in Clayton, Missouri, on June 25, 1973.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker purchased the painting in 1989 from a legitimate dealer and didn’t know it was stolen until his staff spotted its image last week on an FBI website listing stolen works of art, the bureau said in a statement on Friday.

After Spielberg’s staff brought it to the attention of authorities, an FBI agent and an art expert from the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino inspected the painting at one of Spielberg’s offices and confirmed its authenticity on Friday morning. Early FBI estimates put the painting’s value at $700,000, officials said.

Spielberg is cooperating with the FBI and will retain possession of the Russian Schoolroom until its “disposition can be determined”, the bureau said.—AP