Washington ( CNN ) -- More than 30 years after it was stolen from a French museum , an impressionist painting is on its way home . Camille Pissarro 's `` Le Marche aux Poissons '' ( `` The Fish Market '' in English ) was handed over to the French ambassador by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday . `` I love days like this because they are all about the triumph of right over wrong , '' said ICE Director John Morton before signing the document to return the art . The roughly greeting-card-size work was stolen from the Faure Museum in Aix-les-Bains in southeastern France in 1981 . A museum guard told authorities she saw a man walk out with the work hidden under his jacket . The piece is a color monotype , a one-of-a-kind print made by painting on glass and then transferring the wet paint to a piece of paper . Pissarro painted 24 monotypes and only 12 of them were colored , according to the French ambassador , Francois Delattre . `` Today is a great day '' he said . `` This thriller has a happy ending '' This Pissarro was sold to a gallery in San Antonio , Texas , in 1985 , where it was bought by a gallery employee , according to ICE investigators . In 2003 , they said , she tried to sell it at a New York auction house , where it was expected to bring $ 60,000 to $ 80,000 . It was recognized as stolen art and , after years of legal battling , was forfeited to ICE in November of 2011 . Wednesday 's return was staged in a hall of a Washington museum filled with other French impressionist works , including some by artists who were inspired by Pissarro . `` 'Le Marche aux Poissons ' will once again be seen by the public , '' Delattre said . He called its return `` a gift to all future visitors . '' The customs bureau said that since 2007 it has returned more than 2,500 items to more than 22 countries . The man who authorities think walked out of the French museum with the Pissarro has never been prosecuted for the theft .
Camille Pissarro 's ` ` ' Marche aux Poissons '' is given to the French ambassador . It was stolen from the Museum in Val - les - Bains in southeastern France in 1981 . It was given to a Paris gallery , but was n't known as such until it wanted to sell it .