The Storyline

 You are cordially invited...

The year is 1958, and you are about to attend the retirement reception of Professor Anthony St. John Posey at the Courtauld Institute of Art History in London.

Professor Posey is an acclaimed art historian and decorated war hero. He holds the distinction of having served as a member of the Monuments Men from 1943 to 1946.

During his service, Anthony formed a close friendship with a fellow member, Mr. Robert Delacroix. Robert, the owner of a small art gallery in Bordeaux, was recruited for his expertise in French art. Together, in 1948, Anthony and Robert discovered a long-lost masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh - one believed to have been destroyed during the war in Staßfurt, Germany. 

The painting was secured by Professor Posey for the National Gallery in London - a coup for both the professor and the then-Director of Research and Collections, Mr Samuel Edsel. Mr Edsel, a school friend of Anthony’s, was widely celebrated for helping to bring the painting to the gallery. Anthony subsequently received a highly prized promotion to Senior Professor at the Courtauld Institute in London and has since risen in stature within private art-collection circles.
Sadly, Mr Robert Delacroix succumbed to illness and died in 1950, before the success of the painting’s discovery could be fully realised. He is survived by his daughter, Vivienne, who has dedicated her life to preserving his legacy and the family gallery.

We join Professor Posey as he celebrates an early retirement from his post at the Courtauld Institute. He has been offered a lucrative publishing deal by John Murray Publishers to write his memoirs, reflecting on his time in the war with the Monuments Men. He is being assisted in this task by his secretary, Miss Elvira Melford, and his post-doctoral researcher, Dr Martha Seagrove.

In attendance will be his colleagues and friends, including his wife, Francine; the Director of the Courtauld Institute, Professor Henry Gowing, and his wife, Marjorie; the newly appointed Director of the National Gallery, Mr Samuel Edsel; and Robert Delacroix’s daughter, Mlle Vivienne Delacroix, among others.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to view the famous van Gogh painting in person, under the supervision of Detective Inspector Jonathan Crossley of Scotland Yard.