John Maguire on film: Roger Michell goes out in style with his delightful comedy-drama The Duke
The late director’s final offering is an enjoyable look back at the 1961 theft of one of the most expensive paintings in Britain. Meanwhile Damien Power’s No Exit offers something short of a blizzard of thrills
It has been called one of the greatest art robberies of the 20th century. In August 1961, Britain’s National Gallery unveiled its latest acquisition: a portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, by the Spanish master Francisco de Goya. Painted during the Peninsular War, it had been the subject of a £140,000 bid (equivalent to €4 million today) by an American collector but was “saved for the nation” by a government grant. Unveiled to ...