In the context of this artwork, explain the Theft of the Provenance.
On February 23, 1974, someone stole the painting from Kenwood House and ransomed it for a deal to deliver and distribute over $1 million (US) dollars in food to the Caribbean island of Grenada, or the thief would destroy the painting. Following the threat, a small strip of the painting was sent to The Times in London, along with another demand that requested the Irish Republican sisters Marian and Dolours Price be allowed to serve their prison sentences near their homes in Northern Ireland. It was recovered by Scotland Yard in the cemetery of St Bartholomew-the-Great, in London's financial district, on May 7, 1974. The painting showed signs of dampness but was otherwise undamaged.A period copy, A Lady Playing the Guitar, is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Recent scholarship, as of June 2023, indicates the painting in the Philadelphia museum may be an original Vermeer work.
Northern Ireland Kenwood House cat Dolours Price Grenada The Times Marian A Lady Playing the Guitar Guitar St Bartholomew-the-Great London Scotland Yard Philadelphia Museum of Art