Lost Harvard paintings found

Two paintings reported missing from Harvard University’s collections more than three decades ago have been recovered and will be returned to Harvard.

One painting is a 1790 portrait of William Ponsonby, second earl of Bessborough, by John Singleton Copley, that went missing from private university property in 1971. The second painting, a portrait by Gilbert Stuart of 19th century Harvard president John Thornton Kirkland, was reported missing in 1968. Both paintings were sold at an auction in Hudson, N.Y., last weekend, said Harvard University Art Museums spokesman Daron J. Manoogian Friday. Both buyers later contacted Harvard, said Manoogian, who declined to answer questions about the value of the paintings or provide further details on how the paintings were discovered.