An artwork by the world-renowned French painter Claude Monet, lost during World War II, has been returned to the grandchildren of its original owners after 83 years.

The FBI announced that a painting belonging to a couple who fled their home in Vienna during World War II was returned to the grandchildren of its original owners 83 years after it went missing. According to reports in the US media, a couple living in Austria had been searching for Monet’s early work titled “Bord de Mer” that had disappeared from their storage. The FBI stated that the painting, belonging to a couple who fled their home in Vienna during World War II, was bought at an auction in 1941 and went missing again after 1941, only to resurface in 2016 at an exhibition in France.

It was later acquired by an antique dealer based in New Orleans, USA, and after selling it to a couple living in Washington, the FBI began an investigation into the painting. The couple reportedly put the painting up for auction for over $500,000, but decided to hand it over to the FBI after learning about its history. Despite efforts by the original owners and their children to find the painting throughout their lives, the ‘Bord de Mer’ artwork was returned to their grandchildren 83 years after it was stolen.