art heist

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Missing Picasso Found in Iraq?! Probably Not.

The Naked Woman likely not missing, nor a Picasso, say experts

(Newser) - Iraqi security forces have secured a purported Pablo Picasso painting believed stolen from a Kuwaiti museum during the 1990 invasion, the Times of London reports. Only it’s probably not a Picasso. “It bears absolutely no relation to any Picasso that I can think of,” says one expert....

Picasso Sketchbook Worth $16M Stolen in Paris

(Newser) - Thieves stole a sketchbook containing 33 Pablo Picasso drawings from the Picasso Museum in Paris, the Daily Mail reports. The security system was somehow disabled and there was no sign of forced entry. The theft occurred sometime last night or early today and resembles the 2007 robbery of the home...

With Legal Gray Areas, Art Heists Go Digital

Point-and-click age makes for murky copyright arguments

(Newser) - A disconnect between the artistic and legal communities is reigniting the debate over copyright infringement, the Wall Street Journal reports. The law says an artist can adapt an existing work only if the resulting piece is “transformative,” or provides a new spin. “It’s meant to be...

Thieves Return Madoff Statue, Lesson Attached

Note suggests 'swindler' return his plunder, too

(Newser) - The thieves who nabbed a $10,000 copper statue from fraudster Bernard Madoff's swank Florida home have returned it, along with this note: "Bernie the Swindler, Lesson: Return stolen property to rightful owners." The advice was penned by "The Educators," whose inspiration may be a German...

Brazil Thieves Nab 2 Picassos
 Brazil Thieves Nab 2 Picassos  
Jun 12, 2008 7:22 PM CDT

Brazil Thieves Nab 2 Picassos

Second time in weeks that Sao Paulo criminals have stolen Pablo's work

(Newser) - Picasso remains the artist of choice for the criminal elite of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three armed robbers made off with two of his prints—The Painter and the Model and Minotaur, Drinker and Women—from a city museum today, Reuters reports. The robbery comes just weeks after thieves nabbed Picasso's ...

Muted By Thieves, Scream Returns at Full Volume

Restored Munch masterwork returned to museum walls 4 years after theft

(Newser) - Edvard Munch's masterpiece The Scream is hanging again in an Oslo museum today, 4 years after armed robbers stole it in broad daylight, CNN reports. The painting has been undergoing restoration since it was retrieved in 2006. It was structurally damaged, stained, scratched (exposing cardboard beneath the paint) and “...

Sculpture Thieves Seek Scrap Metal
Sculpture Thieves Seek Scrap Metal
May 1, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Sculpture Thieves Seek Scrap Metal

Commodity prices driving thefts; more artists steering clear

(Newser) - A wave of sculpture thefts has little to do with the pieces’ artistic merit: Police believe they’ve been stolen for their valuable copper content, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the past 18 months, three public artworks displayed in Brea, Calif., have disappeared—and the trend is appearing across...

Stolen Art Found in Parking Lot
Stolen Art Found in Parking Lot
Feb 19, 2008 6:55 AM CST

Stolen Art Found in Parking Lot

4 paintings snatched from Swiss museum recovered

(Newser) - The four 19th-century paintings stolen from a Swiss museum have reportedly been found in an unlocked car parked outside a Zurich psychiatric hospital. Although police have not yet confirmed the find, Swiss media are reporting that the $168 million worth of loot—one work each by Cézanne, Degas, Monet,...

$160M in Art Stolen in Zurich
$160M in Art Stolen in Zurich
Feb 11, 2008 9:10 AM CST

$160M in Art Stolen in Zurich

'Spectacular' heist nets 4 masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne

(Newser) - A gang of armed art thieves absconded with four masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne worth $160 million from a Zurich museum yesterday. The brazen daytime robbery follows a theft of two Picassos in Switzerland just two days earlier. The three masked thieves confronted a guard with guns,...

Feds Raid Calif. Museums, Gallery in Stolen Art Case

Illegal artifacts donated for inflated tax deductions

(Newser) - Federal agents raided four California museums and a private gallery in a smuggling investigation into stolen foreign antiquities, reports the New York Times. The gallery allegedly imported looted goods from Thailand, Myanmar, and China, and individuals got inflated tax write-offs for donating them to museums. No charges have yet been...

Brazilian Cops Recover Stolen Picasso

Blue Period painting taken from Sao Paulo museum last month

(Newser) - Police in Brazil have recovered a Picasso painting stolen from a Sao Paulo museum last month and arrested two suspects yesterday. The Picasso, Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, and a painting by Brazilian Candido Portinari are valued at a combined $55 million. The thieves broke into the museum using a hydraulic...

Bangladesh in Frenzied Search for Stolen Art

Priceless artifacts go missing before flight to Paris

(Newser) - Bangladesh has mounted a massive hunt for two priceless artifacts that went missing yesterday at the Dhaka airport, Reuters reports. The statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, sculpted 1,500 years ago, were on their way to an exhibition at a Paris museum. Bangladeshi authorities have detained 12 suspects and...

Thieves Nab a Picasso in Museum Heist

Work by Portinari also missing after quick strike in Brazil

(Newser) - Thieves broke into Latin America's foremost museum early yesterday and stole two paintings in a 3-minute heist. They made off with a Picasso portrait and a work by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari from Brazil's São Paulo Museum of Art, the AP reports. The thieves skipped several major works and...

Scottish Cops Recover Stolen da Vinci in Law Office Raid

Four busted in brazen castle heist

(Newser) - Police in Scotland have recovered a stolen $75 million painting by Leonardo da Vinci in a raid on a top Glasgow law firm that led to four arrests. A lawyer in the firm was among those busted. The "Madonna of the Yarnwinder" was stolen in 2003 from the Duke...

Stolen Picassos Recovered
Stolen Picassos Recovered
Aug 9, 2007 5:18 AM CDT

Stolen Picassos Recovered

Trio busted in theft of $66M paintings lifted from Paris home of artist's granddaughter

(Newser) - Two stolen Picassos worth more than $66 million have been recovered by French police who swooped in as the thieves were about to sell the rolled-up canvases. Tipped off by a suspicious art dealer, investigators set up round-the-clock surveillance of  the suspects for more than a month. Three men have...

Art Heist at French Museum
Art Heist at French Museum
Aug 6, 2007 8:29 AM CDT

Art Heist at French Museum

Sisley, Monet lost when gunmen storm French museum in brazen daylight heist

(Newser) - Hooded gunmen stormed a French museum in Nice yesterday afternoon and stole two Brueghel masterpieces, a Sisley, and a Monet. The thieves ordered employees to lie on the floor before stuffing the paintings in bags and fleeing. Police believe the heist was a "special order" for a private buyer...

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