In a twist worthy of a great spy novel, a Los Angeles-based gay couple have discovered a painting they purchased is actually a lost bit of Nazi-looted art. In an even more head-spinning twist, the pair got engaged after returning it to its native Poland.
“Portrait of a Lady” by the Flemish artist Melchior Geldorp hung in the kitchen of Craig Gilmore and David Crocker, both 55, after the couple paid $5,000 for it at a New York auction about 10 years ago. In 2016, the couple were surprised to say the least when Homeland Security agents arrived at their home to inform them that the painting was actually Nazi loot stolen from Poland during the Second World War.
Gilmore and Crocker parted with the painting, returning it to the National Museum in Warsaw. Recently, they revisited their beloved painting, and punctuated the saga of the lost art with another twist: they got engaged.
Related: How This Chiseled Boxing Champ Became The Unlikely New Face Of Gay Rights In Poland
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Crocker and Gilmore strolled through a Warsaw park as news cameras followed the return of the national heroes. Gilmore then dropped to one knee to make his proposal. Gilmore later said that he had selected the venue as a showing of solidarity with the oppressed LGBTQ community in Poland. “[I wanted to] invite the Polish LGBTQ community to join in our joy,” Gilmore said. “David and I are confident that very soon they will prevail in their struggles.”
Recent years have seen a wave of homophobia on the rise in Eastern Europe, especially in the heavily Catholic Poland. Marriage equality remains illegal in the nation, as does adoption by gay couples (single gay people are allowed to adopt). This March, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland, declared war on the queer community. “It comes down to, as we know today, sexualization of children from the earliest childhood,” he said at a party convention. “We need to fight this. We need to defend the Polish family. We need to defend it furiously because it’s a threat to civilization, not just for Poland but for the entire Europe, for the entire civilization that is based on Christianity.”
james7
Behind their shoulders is a painting of a woman that looks Flemish? Is that the painting in question?
DJBtoo
Yes, that is the painting in question. If you read the short article it states “‘Portrait of a Lady’ by the Flemish artist Melchior Geldorp…”
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
They are lucky they weren’t arrested after doing a good deed. Interesting, cause the smcubags who spew hatred and bigotry towards Gays today are no different than the Nazis……
kayakriver
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
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urbantenor
Hi fellow queers and allies! This is Craig Gilmore, half of the queer couple who got engaged in Poland! 🙂
A couple of other facts from our outreach:
After drinking a champagne toast with homeland security, and sending Our Lady (the painting) back to Poland, we decided to send thousands of T-shirts, posters, and stickers to the Polish LGBTQI community. We coined the term “share the pride” to go on them. This was an invitation to our global brothers and sisters to come “share the pride” in being able to do this for their homeland!
Kangol2
Thank you for doing the right and proper thing and for supporting the Polish LGBTQI communities, and congratulations on your pending nuptials!
urbantenor
As well, we did a donation outreach to the Jewish community and the educational department of the National Museum in Warsaw. Our goal was to create a moment of celebration for Our Lady’s return., and hopefully create some cross-cultural bridges in Poland.
urbantenor
Last month we had an event at the National Museum Warsaw in which the organizations we had been working with, as well as the American Embassy and Poland’s Divission For Looted Art, were able to come together, view the painting, and meet each other. It was an amazing moment that took me 2 1/2 years and over 700 emails to make happen. 🙂
russellhm
The article says: “the couple paid $5,000 for it at a New York auction about 10 years ago”; it would also have been interesting–full story, if you will–how the painting came to be at the auction. All artwork at auctions are required to acknowledge the provenance of the works and whoever owned the work before would be interesting.