The 15-century panel was the the first of Richard Neumann's paintings to be identified for sale on the art market. On the 1938 inventory of his assets conducted in accordance with the anti-Jewish laws enforced in Austria after the Anschluss, it is listed as the work of a 15th-century unknown artist called the Master of Fucecchio, making it an unusually early work for a collection of mostly Baroque and Rococo paintings. In a scrapbook Dr. Neumann kept of his art, there is a photograph of the work and an opinion written by the Hungarian art historian Gyorgy (Greg) Gombosi from 1939 that confidently the "Madonna with Child" to Neri di Bicci, who was also active in Italy in the mid- to late 15th century. On the basis of this image, art historian Sophie Lillie recognized the painting when she encountered it in a Sotheby's London auction catalog for their December 6, 2017 Old Masters Evening Sale. Richard Neumann's heirs were able to negotiate a purchase price with the owner. When it came into their possession, it still bore a seal on the back with the handwritten inscription: "Eigentum Lilly Neumann" (Property of Lilly Neumann).

Neri di Bicci
mid- to late 15th century