Kherson Art Museum identifies 80th artworks stolen by Russian occupiers

The Kherson Art Museum has identified the 80th artwork that was stolen by the Russian forces during the occupation of the southern city of Kherson.

The museum shared on Facebook that the fragment of a painting was captured on camera during the shooting of two Russian propaganda stories at the Tavrida Central Museum in occupied Crimea in August and September 2023, Rubryka reports.

"[It] allowed us to identify the 80th work stolen by occupiers from the collection of the Kherson Art Museum, along with more than 10,000 other art pieces, which are currently illegally held in Crimea," the announcement said.

The identified work is "Reapers" by Maria Schneider-Seniuk (born in 1936). Originally from Ukraine's Volyn region and later a resident of Kherson, Maria Schneider-Seniuk is a renowned tapestry artist and the matriarch of an artistic dynasty.

She nurtures the Ukrainian folk tradition in all aspects of her creativity, celebrating the image of the native land in tapestries, paintings, and graphics. All of her works are dedicated to Ukraine.

Alongside the canvas by the well-known artist, other previously identified artworks can be seen in the video footage.

The museum stated that experts are gradually identifying more works, the illegal presence of which in the Tavrida Central Museum raises no doubts.

The staff of the Kherson Art Museum, named after Oleksii Shovkunenko, has taken on the task of identifying stolen works of art that "surfaced" in occupied Crimea.

In related news, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin also presented a project on its platform featuring works stolen by Russian invaders from the Kherson Art Museum.

"With the onset of the full-scale invasion, Russian occupiers not only killed Ukrainians and destroyed their homes but also aimed to destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage. Numerous museums and galleries became targets of attacks, destruction, and looting. Among these institutions is the Kherson Art Museum," said the Irish museum professionals.

The project "Lost Ukrainian Heritage" presents 32 works stolen by occupiers from the collection of the Kherson Art Museum. The museum's actual artistic losses amount to more than 11,000 pieces.