Art Theft Finally Reported, 12 Years After Painting Went Missing

And oddly enough, nobody seems that concerned about it.

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ANDREW WATSON / GETTY IMAGES

The National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Australia

More than a decade after a potential theft, a 19th-century painting is finally being reported as stolen.

Low Tide at Boulogne, believed to be painted in 1824, is an undated, unsigned seascape valued at 130,000 pounds ($204,000), the Telegraph reports. The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia did not report the theft sooner thinking it was simply misplaced. Due to renovations in 1999, the 65,000 works of art in the gallery’s collection were temporarily relocated.

Interestingly, neither the museum nor the art world seems too upset by the loss. The gallery only reported the painting missing after because they had to; government opposition filed a freedom of information request inquiring about the painting’s whereabouts. Art historian Sasha Grishin tells the Telegraph, “for a normal gallery goer, even for a person who is quite passionate about the [National Gallery of Victoria] collection, it’s not something that’s going to strike you as a major icon missing.”

MORE: Crimes of the Century