Two paintings by French masters Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard have been recovered in Italy after they were reported stolen from a London residence in 1970. Italy's Culture Ministry unveiled the two missing works on Wednesday, after they spent 40 years hanging in the kitchen of a Fiat factory worker. The man was reportedly unaware of the artwork's value.

After their disappearnce from the London home, the paintings were left on a train en route to Turin from Paris. The unclaimed art was stored in the Italian Railways lost and found until 1975 when they were offered at a lost property auction. The art-loving Fiat factory worker from Turin picked them up for less than $100. A relative of his recently noticed stylistic elements of Gauguin and the autoworker, now retired and living in Sicily, alerted authorities about the pictures.

Gauguin's "Fruits sur une Table ou Nature au Petite Chien" is valued at between $14 million and $41 million. Bonnard's "La Femme aux Deux Fauteuils" is worth about $827,000.

The case is still under investigation. Title to the paintings has yet to be established since the London collector, reportedly Terence Kennedy of the Marks & Spencer retail fortune, has passed away and had no children.