Woman Discovers Stolen Painting Of Her Mother Hanging In Dallas Bar
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A painting believed to be lost to the ages, stolen from a Dallas woman years ago, was returned to its rightful owner Monday.
The painting is of a teenage Betsy Daniels. It was stolen from her University Park home in 2006 when the house was burglarized.
This portrait of a young Betsy Daniels has been hanging at Bowen House, a bar in Uptown. (photo credit: MaryAnn Martinez)
This portrait of a young Betsy Daniels has been hanging at Bowen House, a bar in Uptown. (photo credit: MaryAnn Martinez)
Earlier this month, Daniels' daughter, Katy Ryan, went to meet friends at Bowen House in Uptown.
"That is my mother; that is our painting," recalls Ryan. "Why is it on the wall here at the Bowen House? It's almost like if I saw a ghost or something."
Katy Ryan
Ryan told the bar manager and owner the story, even showing them a photo of her stepfather standing in front of the portrait before it was stolen. The 78-year-old Daniels also went to Bowen House to see the family heirloom for herself.
Bowen House says it bought the painting earlier this year from an antiques store in Dallas, along with other artwork for the walls of the restaurant and bar, which is lined with old photos and paintings.
The owner of Bowen House agreed to return the painting. Monday morning, Ryan returned to Bowen House to take the painting home.
Ryan says they thought they'd never see the painting again.
"The sequence of events, the stars aligned, I don't know what it was," said Ryan.
Bowen House is going one step further, in an attempt to honor the painting and its remarkable story.
"We are actually going to get coasters made of that painting because we just loved it," said Bowen House manager Daniel Alqassen. "We want to kind of keep that story alive and kind of tell people about it."
