$4 million Lichtenstein painting found 42 years later

Barbara Bertozzi, the widow of American art dealer Leo Castelli, stands next to the Roy Lichtenstein painting, "Electric Cord," which had been missing for 42 years. Picture: Bebeto Matthews

A $4 million Roy Lichtenstein painting of an electrical cord that disappeared 42 years ago has been returned to its owner in New York City.

Barbara Castelli said at a news conference today she plans to hang it in her Manhattan home. The 1961 painting was recovered in July at a New York storage warehouse.

US attorney Preet Bharara won't say whether criminal charges will be brought against anyone responsible for the disappearance of the painting, named Electric Cord.Castelli's late husband, Leo Castelli, sent the painting to an art restorer for cleaning in January 1970, and it vanished.

The painting resurfaced six years after the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation published an image of it on its holiday greeting card in 2006 and asked the art community to help find it.