(Left with Priest Astonishing Story of an Old Painting Revealed An astonishing story of a painting that may be worth a small fortune, and how it came into the hands of a London Roman Catholic priest, was revealed recently, states "Reynolds."
Carrying a brown paper parcel under his arm, a man entered the waiting-room of the house of Canon McCarthy. behind the Church of the Sacred Heart, Camberwell New-road. Canon McCarthy was talking to another visitor at the moment, and the apparently pressed for time, handed the parcel to a servant. He explained that it contained a painting that had fallen out of its frame on his own wall, and he thought it would look more suitable in the church.
The painting is a portrait of St. Peter after his miraculous release from prison. He is seen wringing his hands, with tears rolling down his cheeks, and his wrists still scarred with the manacles.
It was hung in the church, where it was greatly admired, But it was not until it was sent to a local artist for renovation that its potential value came to light.
Mr. Carl Bregazzi, the artist to whom the task of renovation was entrusted, said: I am certain that this painting is the work of Antonio Alleggri, called Correggio, a famous Italian painter who lived from 1494 to 1534. I recognize the face. It appears in several of Correggio's studies in the National Gallery. There is no doubt that the same model sat for them all.
Canon McCarthy said: If it really is an old master, worth thousands, I shall ell it, The Court of Appeal reversed ibis decision, Mrs, Beresford went to the Lords, who, ip dismissing her appeal yesterday, held that no man could claim benefit from his own crime, whether under a contract or a gift In the case of suicides it is generally accepted that the insurance company will pay if the act was committed at a time when the lance of mind was disturbed. In ihe present instance, however, it has been decided that even though the insurance company had contracted to pay in the event of the cide of the insured the contract could not be enforced because it would be against, public interest.
This had led insurance companies to ask whether, in the case of claims having any connection with a crime, the onus will be on them to show that payment would be against the public interest.
One insurance authority said that if Major Rowlandson had assigned his policy to creditors they would have been in a position to Ci&im the insurance money, and their claim, they being third parties, would not have been disputed.
The feeling in insurance circles is that it is the law which needs clarifying; the inclusion in a policy of a clause dealing with suicide would, it is argued, create complications.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.