In the context of Theft of The Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria, discuss the Recovery of the The theft.
In his 2003 memoir, The Bright Shapes and the True Names, McCaughey wrote that, a few days before the painting was recovered, a Melbourne art dealer called him to say that a young artist may know something about the theft. When he visited the artist's studio, McCaughey writes, he made a point to say that he was interested in the return of the painting, not a conviction for the crime: "I said deliberately, at least twice, that the people who had taken the work could deposit it in a luggage locker at Spencer Street railway station or at Tullamarine Airport."Two days later, on 19 August 1986, following an anonymous phone call to police, the painting was found undamaged and carefully wrapped in brown paper tied with string in locker number 227 at Spencer Street station. The locker was opened with a station staff master key. Police stated that the painting was packed in such a way as to ensure that it would not be damaged, suggesting "quite possibly someone in the art world or on the fringes of the art world." McCaughey himself later formally identified the painting.A third letter from the "Australian Cultural Terrorists" was included with the work. Its content was not initially released to the public. An extract printed in The Age read:Of course we never looked to have our demands met ... Our intention was always to bring to public attention the plight of a group which lacks any of the legitimate means of blackmailing governments.
right The Age Spencer Street railway station blackmail Tullamarine Airport Melbourne