THE Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry has received just over £3 million from his insurers for the theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna with the Yarnwinder at his Dumfries and Galloway castle in August.

The painting was valued at between £25 million and £50 million.

The Leonardo painting, held at Drumlanrig Castle, 17 miles north of Dumfries, had been in one of the United Kingdom’s finest private art collections.

Reports that the insurance payout had been cut because the £400 million collection was under-insured remain unconfirmed.

A spokesman for the Buccleuch estate said yesterday: “There are many complex issues in relation to the insurance of the art collection that still have to be resolved and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

He declined to comment on the size of the insurance payout but it is understood to be more than £3 million. Thieves snatched the painting on Wednesday, August 27.

During the raid two men posing as tourists overpowered a woman member of staff and grabbed the artwork before making off in a white VW Golf GTi, later found abandoned three miles away.

Police later released closed-circuit television footage of the two thieves that was taken as they escaped from the castle. They were shown making strenuous efforts to hide their faces as they made their way to rejoin two accomplices in the getaway car before speeding down the drive.

Despite a reconstruction that was staged on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme, Dumfries and Galloway Police confirmed that no traces of the gang or the missing painting have been found. Lloyd’s of London has offered a six-figure reward for the recovery of the masterpiece.

The collection of the Duke, one of Scotland’s richest landowners, also houses works by Rembrandt and Holbein, among others.

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