Lost Róbert Berény Painting Found in 'Stuart Little' Film Frame

In 2009, Hungarian National Gallery researcher Gergely Barki discovered a long-lost cubist masterpiece while watching the 1999 animated film 'Stuart Little' with his daughter. The painting, 'Sleeping Lady with Black Vase' by Róbert Berény (1887–1953), had been missing since 1928 after an exhibition of the Munkácsy Guild. Barki recognized it in a single frame showing the living room fireplace. He contacted film crew members, and in 2011 a set designer replied, revealing she had bought the painting at a Pasadena antique shop for a low price, thinking it suited the film's set. After filming, she kept it in her apartment. Barki visited her, confirmed the work, and informed her of its significance. The set designer later sold it to a private collector, who auctioned it at Virag Judit Gallery in Budapest on December 13, 2014, for €230,000—a record for Berény. The story highlights the serendipitous rediscovery of a lost artwork through popular culture.