Museum turning over purloined portrait to Homeland Security

One of seven stolen artifacts that were on display at the Honolulu Museum of Art is shown in a secure room of the museum’s basement, Tuesday, March 31, 2015 in Honolulu. AP

SALEM, Massachusetts — One of Massachusetts’ most prestigious art museums is turning a portrait over to federal authorities because it was purchased from a dealer accused of trafficking in stolen antiquities from India.

The Peabody Essex Museum says it will expedite the handover of the mid-19th century Tanjore portrait to the Department of Homeland Security to cooperate with an ongoing international art fraud investigation into dealer Subhash Kapoor.

The museum acquired the portrait from Kapoor’s New York gallery in 2006. Kapoor was arrested in 2011 and is awaiting trial in India.

In a statement issued Friday, the Peabody Essex Museum said it has undertaken a “rigorous” internal assessment of its collection and is fully cooperating with Homeland Security.

It said the allegations have “sent shock waves through the art community.”