The fairy tale has ended for the woman who found a Renoir in a flea market. The work appears to have been stolen from the Baltimore Museum of Art decades ago, according to documents that surfaced late last week:

Baltimore police on Friday uncovered the report from Nov. 17, 1951. The museum on Thursday said it also found a record in its library that the painting was stolen. The police report noted there was no evidence of forced entry at the museum and that the painting was valued then at $2,500. […] The museum’s insurance company from 1951 also might be able to make a claim, though the museum had not located insurance records to identify the company. Museum officials were combing through paper records Friday to learn more about the theft. So far, they have found a record documenting the museum had borrowed the painting from art patron Saidie A. May, who donated many other works to the museum. The painting was on exhibit at the time it was stolen, said museum spokeswoman Anne Mannix. It’s listed in a catalog for the 1951 exhibit, “From Ingres to Gauguin: French 19th Century Paintings Owned in Maryland.”

Virginia woman discovers flea market purchase is Renoir painting stolen from art museum in 1951 (AP)