A painting by Ukrainian artist Mykhailo Panin, named “The Secret Departure of Ivan the Terrible Before the Oprichnina,” which was taken from Dnipro during the German occupation, was transferred from the United States to Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ukraine has said.
“With the assistance of the ministry, the process of returning the painting of a famous Ukrainian artist illegally taken during the Nazi occupation from the city of Dnipro (then known as Dnipropetrovsk) 1941-1943 was completed. Two years of painstaking work ended with the American Tracy family donating the painting to Ukraine, which was declared in 2017 for sale at the Potomack Company auction (Alexandria, Virginia)” the ministry said on Facebook.
The ministry emphasized that the return of Panin’s work to Ukraine is the result of many years of joint work and strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, as well as “international recognition of the loss of cultural values of Ukraine during the Second World War.”
