Masterpieces are back home again

Two J.M.W. Turner masterpieces stolen from a German exhibition eight years ago have been returned to the Tate Britain, the London gallery announced Friday.

The two paintings, which had been insured for a total of $38.5 million, were found intact but without their original frames.

“These two are among Turner’s most important works,” Tate director Nicholas Serota told reporters. They were stolen along with a painting by German artist Caspar David Friedrich while on loan to the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt. Three thieves and the driver who carried out the theft were arrested in 1995 and convicted in Germany in 1999.

One of the Turner paintings, “Shade and Darkness,” was actually recovered in July 2000. But the discovery was kept secret while investigations continued. The second, “Light and Color,” was recovered Monday. Both were returned to Britain on Wednesday.