Freud's art is exhibited around the world

The Painter's Garden, en route from London and destined for a New York art gallery, went missing on Tuesday following its arrival at JFK airport.

Prosecutors said security tapes show Kirt Garvey and Rajmothan Autar collaborating on the theft.

The oil painting was recovered on Wednesday. Garvey and Autar could face up to 25 years in jail if convicted.

Mr Garvey, 19, and Mr Autar, 29, hid the painting of a tree and shrubs in a garage in the Queens district, prosecutors said.

Uncompromising

The accused men are awaiting an appearance in court on charges of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.

If convicted, each could face up to 25 years in prison, according to prosecutor Richard Brown said.

Lucian Freud, 80, was born in Germany and settled in England in the 1930s and is the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

He is considered by many to be Britain's greatest living painter, and his pictures are often startlingly naturalistic images of people in a variety of poses.

Freud is also famed for his uncompromising portraits of subjects, including the Queen, who he painted in 2001.