Stolen Matisse painting returned to Stockholm museum after 25 years The museum released a statement reading "The painting 'Le Jardin' has been brought home from London. Right now the painting is in its transportation case. The museum said the artwork would need 24 hours to acclimatise to its new surroundings before being unpacked. Le Jardin has been in secure storage at the Art Loss Register in London, who identified it as a stolen work after being contacted by a dealer in Essex before Christmas. The painting is thought to be worth $1millon and was taken from the Swedish museum by a burglar armed with a sledgehammer. The painting's whereabouts have been unknown for the last 25 years, although the thieves had tried unsuccessfully to sell the painting back to the museum for a ransom fee shortly after its theft. The dealer, Charles Roberts, who reported the work to the Art Loss Register said he had been asked to sell the painting by an elderly man in Poland, said he had owned it since the 1990s and wanted to raise money for his grandchildren.