Reward offered for painting

Insurers on Thursday offered a six-figure reward for the recovery of a painting credited to Leonardo da Vinci that was stolen from a Scottish castle by thieves posing as tourists.

Police said two men walked into Drumlanrig Castle, near Dumfries, on Wednesday, overpowering a female guard, disabling an alarm and pulling Leonardo’s “Madonna With the Yarnwinder” off the wall. “Some have likened it to the theft of the Mona Lisa -- which fortunately did come back,” fine arts loss adjuster Mark Dalrymple told the BBC News.

Brian Sewell, a leading British art critic, estimated that the painting, symbolizing the crucifixion of Jesus, would command almost $40 million.