A painting given to Wandsworth Council by a Nazi refugee will finally be exhibited in line with his wishes - more than 60 years late and in a gallery in Portugal.

German-born Jewish artist Eugen Hersch gave his work, Triptych in Blue, to the council in 1948 in gratitude for the borough taking him in as a refugee when he fled Germany in 1939.

Mr Hersch - who lived in Oakhill Road in Putney, and died in 1967 - donated the work, which is now valued at £2,000, on condition it would be publicly displayed.

But the painting, which depicts nude figures in allegoric poses and hangs in six separate pieces, was never properly exhibited because of its size - 11ft by 21ft.

After lying behind a curtain in the bridge passageway between the Town Hall and the Civic Suite for many years the work now requires a £40,000 restoration.

A restoration the council decided not to fund, as the value of the work may never match the cost of refurbishment.

Mr Hersch’s work is more popular in mainland Europe and, after intervention by councillors and the artist’s grandson, the work will now go to the Berardo Collection of Modern Art in Lisbon on the understanding it pays for the transfer and restoration, and displays it in public.

Councillor Tony Belton, who helped with the move, said the painting had long been a part of the Town Hall folklore.

“I have walked by it for 40 years and it has always been under a curtain,” he said. “I’ve asked about getting something done about it for years.”

The work has outlasted many politicians and even caused some consternation for town hall officials.

One politician recalled the piece had to be covered when dignitaries visited because of the nude depiction.

“I remember when the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came a couple of times it was thought prudent to cover the art work up.”