STEVEN SPIELBERG - STOLEN ROCKWELL PAINTING FOUND AT SPIELBERG'S HOME

STOLEN ROCKWELL PAINTING FOUND AT SPIELBERG'S HOME

Filmmaker STEVEN SPIELBERG is reeling after an FBI investigation discovered his NORMAN ROCKWELL painting had been stolen from a gallery over three decades ago. The director bought RUSSIAN SCHOOLROOM from a dealer in 1989 and was alerted to its background when one of his employees saw the painting on a FBI website which listed stolen artworks. After the FBI was alerted, an investigation concluded last week (ends02MAR07) and its authenticity was confirmed yesterday (02MAR07). The painting was stolen from the Clayton Art Gallery in Clayton, Missouri in the late 1970s. Spielberg's spokesman MARVIN LEVY says, "(Spielberg is) certainly one of the collectors of Rockwell. We have a few in our office on the Universal lot." The New York City-born artist died in November 1978 of emphysema.