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October 12, 2010
October 7, 2010
"Stealing the Mystic Lamb"
September 28, 2010
Cairo van Gogh Theft an Inside Job?
The still-missing "Poppy Flowers", by Vincent van Gogh |
- AFP: Egypt museum employee behind Van Gogh theft: minister, AFP, September 26, 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iUQB5fPhmiFCuK-JufZ785Af9icg (last visited Sep 27, 2010).
- Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Security problems abound in Egypt's museums, Associated Press, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38884911/ns/technology_and_science-science/ (last visited Aug 28, 2010).
September 22, 2010
Two Forfeited Works Returned to Brazil
"Modern Painting with Yellow Interweave", Roy Lichtenstein |
I am quoted in a piece for NPR affiliate WNYC discussing the return of two objects to Brazil.
This work by Roy Lichtenstein and another work by Joaquin Torres-Garcia were returned to the government of Brazil today during a ceremony in New York (press release). The works were once owned by the disgraced Brazilian banker Edemar Cid Ferreira who was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2006 for financial fraud.
A judge in Brazil ordered Ferreira to surrender his unlawfully-gained assets. In an attempt to conceal some of these assets, these works were shipped to the Netherlands and then to New York where they were sold to unsuspecting buyers. The paperwork accompanying these works valued them at only $200, while they may be worth as much as $12 million.
This is an example of the use of civil forfeiture in policing the art and antiquities trade. The "Portrait of Wally" settlement reached earlier this summer was also reached via forfeiture. Forfeiture allows prosecutors to bring a suit against an object which was part of a crime, and all claimants to the object come forward to challenge the forfeiture. It is a powerful tool for prosecutors, as the burden of proof is far lower than the typical "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard typically involved in prosecutions. Historically, federal prosecutors have intervened on behalf of origin nations or claimants when they have potential claims. Yet it has also been a useful tool in policing organized and white collar crimes.
- Marlon Bishop, Lichtenstein and Torres GarcĂa Paintings On the Way Back to Brazil, WNYC, September 21, 2010, http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2010/sep/21/us-returns-brazilian-art/ (last visited Sep 21, 2010).
- Erica Orden, U.S. Returns Valuable Paintings Seized From Ex-Banker to Brazil, wsj.com, September 21, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704129204575506181973997368.html (last visited Sep 21, 2010).
August 28, 2010
More on the Security Breakdown in Cairo
The stolen work, "Poppy Flowers" |
I'm quoted at the end of the piece, noting that the best way to protect works of art is not necessarily with an elaborate electronic security system. Those alarms and sensors certainly play an important role, but for a nation like Egypt, an active, engaged security guard who isn't dozing off as these guards perhaps were, would seemingly have been a successful deterrent for the thieves. They apparently walked in and cut the work from the frame during hours the museum was open. And I want to make clear that when I was quoted in the piece saying "It's not an exciting job, but you need to take it seriously", I mean that security staff at museums are professionals, and should be given that status. In Cairo, these guards were certainly not expected or required to maintain an adequate standard, and the theft and damage of this artwork is the unfortunate result. But hopefully Egypt will learn from this crime, and enact some sound security procedures to ensure more works of art are not stolen in the future.
When Ms. Al-Shalchi called me to discuss the theft, she told me she had learned that many of the guards may have been praying—this is still Ramadan—while the theft was taking place, that they may have been dozing off, and that the museum was not heavily visited on the day of the theft. But perhaps most troubling of all were the breakdowns in technology at the museum. As the piece states, there were no working alarms, only seven of the 43 cameras were in operating condition, and video from the cameras is recorded only when a guard "senses" an incident may be taking place. As Ton Cremers, founder of the Museum Security Network says, this is not a good state of affairs for the protection of such valuable artworks: "The value of the van Gogh is $40 (million) to $50 million . . . A complete security system of that museum would be $50,000, and to keep it running would cost $3,000 a year. ... Need I say more?"
Also of interest will be the arguments against repatriation of other classes of objects—such as the bust of Nefertiti—on the grounds that Egypt is not going to be able to adequately care for the object when it is returned. yet Art theft occurs in every nation, and bad security is bad security whether the museum is in Egypt, Europe, or North America. Thieves will exploit obvious gaps in security. As Mark Durney, current moderator of the Museum Security Network, asked this week "Why are some national collections not as well protected as others? Who, in addition to the thief, is responsible for the theft?" I think that is the right set of questions to ask, yet they need to be asked whenever a museum is unprepared for a theft, whether that museum is in Egypt, or France—where the security system at the Modern Museum may have not been in working order earlier this summer when five works were stolen.
- Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Security problems abound in Egypt's museums, Associated Press, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38884911/ns/technology_and_science-science/ (last visited Aug 28, 2010).
August 25, 2010
Forgery Ring Discovered in Italy
- Italy seizes counterfeit artwork, BBC, August 25, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11088475 (last visited Aug 25, 2010).
August 24, 2010
ARCA featured in La Repubblica
The Carabinieri TPC were honored with the 2009 ARCA Award for Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art, and were featured in a BBC Radio Four documentary which ran earlier this summer. In that documentary the Carabinieri reiterated that art crime is linked to the drug and arms trades and even terrorism, and highlighted the fact that most art crime involves organized crime, and therefore is something to be taken very seriously indeed.
July 26, 2010
Profile of Howard Spiegler
The audio profile includes highlights of Mr. Spiegler's remarks at the ARCA conference, as well as the comments of Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register, and historian Marc Masurovsky.
You can listen to the profile here.
- Nancy Greenleese, Fighting for Art Justice, Voice of America, http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/american-life/Fighting-for-Art-Justice-99225324.html (last visited Jul 26, 2010).
Howard Spiegler at the 2010 ARCA Conference (Urska Charney) |
July 19, 2010
"The Bulldog" Makes a Case for the Return of the "Getty Bronze"
The "Getty Bronze" |
One object which the Italians did not secure was this bronze, which is the subject of a seizure proceeding in Italy. I've posted below four videos which find Fiorilli making a reasoned legal case for the return of the bronze. An Italian court in February ordered the return of this object, however difficulty will arise when Italy attempts to convince a U.S. court to enforce the order. The Getty has appealed the Italian decision, but the legal proceedings are important not only for the direct result, but for the shift in public perception which the Getty will have to navigate. Surely the Getty does not relish the idea of a long protracted public debate over the disposition of this bronze. The story of this bronze presents an interesting case. Though it was certainly illegally exported from Italy, it cannot be considered a "looted" object in my view.
The bronze was found by Italian fishermen somewhere in the Adriatic in the 1960's. I wrote a long summary of the story of the bronze back in 2007. To summarize, the statue was found by fisherman in the Adriatic in 1964, smuggled out of Italy, and eventually purchased by the Getty in 1977. The bronze was discussed a great deal in the very public battle between Italy and the Getty over other looted objects in recent years. Yet there was a lack of direct evidence linking the Getty to any wrongdoing in the acquisition. Criminal proceedings were brought against some of the fishermen and handlers of the statue in Italy in 1968. Left with little concrete evidence to secure a conviction, the fishermen were acquitted. Yet as Fiorilli argued, these proceedings were made difficult because the actual statue had been smuggled abroad, and Italian prosecutors were unable to meet their burden.
I'll let Fiorilli make his case in the videos below, and apologies for the low sound levels. Fiorilli spoke beautiful English, but chose to make his case in Italian, with the help of a translator.
Cross-posted at http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/
July 14, 2010
The 2010 ARCA Conference at Palazzo Petrignani
The 2010 ARCA Conference at Palazzo Petrignani in Amelia |
This year the conference was chaired by Founding Director Noah Charney and took place at Palazzo Petrignani at the top of Amelia—a grand setting for the discussion of art crime. Though the Umbrian sun made the room quite warm at times, the two day conference offered a number of terrific presentations and discussions. I'd like to draw out a few highlights.
An International Art Crime Tribunal
Judge Arthur Tompkins delivered the first paper of the conference, discussing what he calls an International Art Crime Tribunal. Judge Tompkins made a compelling case for the tribunal at last year's conference, and in the edited Art and Crime collection. Judge Tompkins argued that we need a consistent and fair approach to these art disputes. He noted that a number of prominent nations of origin like Italy, Greece or Egypt might be initial eager proponents of such a Tribunal; and Rome would perhaps be an ideal venue for the court to sit. He gave a frank appraisal of the challenges such a Tribunal would face, but noted that the creation of such a tribunal warrants development. Much like the other international Tribunals and developments had their own champions, and International Art Crime Tribunal would need the same—the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt for example. Judge Tompkins discussed the ongoing dispute over Portrait of Wally, which has stretched on since 1998, comparing it to the Jarndyce v. Jarndyce chancery decision from Dickens' Bleak House. Perhaps a fair robust Art Crime Tribunal would be better positioned to resolve that dispute in a more timely manner.
Portrait of Wally, Egon Schiele, subject of a 12-year forfeiture dispute |
Other Presenters
There were a number of other fine presentations worth mentioning. Betina Kuzmarov used the dispute of the Qianlong Bronze Heads from the Yves Saint Laurent collection to examine the difficult nature of using objective and subjective standards in cultural property disputes. Kristen Hower highlighted the importance of histories and proper acquisition of objects by discussing the dilemma faced by art historians in detecting forgeries in Late Antique art, specifically a number of objects known as the Cleveland Marbles. Chris Marinello discussed the work of the art loss register, pointing out that the ALR has ceased to offer certificates for certain antiquities searches, as the database is unable to effectively determine if these objects have been recently looted from their archaeology. Jane Milosch discussed the Provenance Research initiatives at the Smithsonian. Jennifer Kreder and Marc Masurovsky discussed nazi-era spoliation claims from the perspective of the holocaust claimants and their successors. James Twining discussed his own use of art crime in his popular fiction. Valerie Higgins discussed the ways in which armed conflict and identity can be remembered and created.
ARCA Alumni
A number of participants and graduates of last year's ARCA MA program presented their work as well. Olivia Sladen discussed the importance of due diligence in the art market as it relates to forged works. Riikka Kongas discussed her work at the Valamo Art Conservation Institute in Finland, discussing the plague of forged Russian icon paintings which are discovered when they are brought in to be conserved. Catherine Sezgin offered her research on the 1972 theft at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1972. John Vezeris discussed the work of his company, Annapolis Group International in protecting the works of the historical San Lio church in Venice with Venice in Peril and ARCA. Colette Marvin analyzed the recent string of art crime exhibits being offered by museums in the United States and Europe.
ARCA Award Winners
Howard Spiegler, recipient of the ARCA Award for Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art |
Lawrence Rothfield, receiving his Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship |
Dick Drent, recipient of the ARCA Award for Art Security and Protection |
Charles Hill was unable to attend, but was presented the award for Art Policing and Recovery.
Next up I'll discuss the comments of Giovanni Pastore, former Vice-Commandant of the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, as well as the comments of Stefano Alessandrini and Maurizio Fiorilli, Italy's Advocate General, both of whom had some interesting comments on the loss of antiquities and on the ongoing dispute over the Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth currently on display at the Getty Villa.
Photos of the Conference courtesy of Urska Charney.
(cross-posted at http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/)
June 16, 2010
Postgraduate Program in International Art Crime Studies: Week 2
BBC Radio on The Carabinieri Art Squad
June 11, 2010
Value of public art in vandalism cases an unclear issue
June 8, 2010
Postgraduate Program in International Art Crime Studies: Week 1
June 3, 2010
ARCA's Colette Marvin at the Scene of the Crime at musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris
May 26, 2010
Traficantes de drogas y armas, tras el robo del museo de ParĂs
May 24, 2010
More ARCA Reps on the Paris Art Theft
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=alqtHCgcDqvg
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/20/AR2010052005101.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.newsweek.com/id/238283
May 21, 2010
Time Magazine on the Paris Heist
May 20, 2010
Musée d'art modern de la ville de Paris robbed of five paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani, and Leger estimated at 100 million euros
Rear entrance to musée d'art modern de la ville de Paris |
Correction: The original version assumed that the window's metal accordion shutters were exterior; a visit to the museum in July 2010 showed that the metal shutters were on the inside of the windows.
For six weeks, the MusĂ©e d’Art Modern de la Ville de Paris has waited for parts to fix their security system. Last night, five paintings valued at 100 million euros were stolen between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning from the building in one of the most fashionable districts in Paris, just blocks from the Pont de l’Alma where Princess Diana died in 1997 and north of the Eiffel Tour.
Time Magazine reported in "The French Art Heist: Who Would Steal Unsaleable Picassos?":
According to officials, the thief cut through a gate padlock and broke a window to gain access to the museum, all without alerting the security guards or triggering the museum's alarm system. A security camera filmed the intruder making off with five paintings, but the works were only discovered missing during morning rounds just before 7 a.m. on May 20.
No further details have been submitted by museum or law enforcement officials. One likely scenario is that the thief may have driven a scooter along the Avenue du New York that runs parallel to the Seine where the street has signs posted forbidding parking and heavy black gates that separate the road from the wide sidewalk as is common in central Paris.
“La Pastorale”, an oil painting of nudes on a hillside by Henri Matisse about 15 million euros. Matisse, the leader, of Fauvism, was a rival and friend of Pablo Picasso. Matisse painted this oil on a 46 x 55 centimeter canvas in 1905.
“L’olivier prĂ©s de l’Estaque” by Georges Braque;
“La femme a l’eventail” (Woman with a Fan) by Amedeo Modigliani;
and “Nature-more aux chandeliers” (Still Life with Chandeliers) by Fernand Leger.
April 8, 2010
Forgeries: as seen on TV!
March 30, 2010
Twenty Years and Counting: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft
March 26, 2010
Museum Security Network: New Management
Thanks for your support. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments you can reach me at mark@artcrime.info .
Mark Durney, March 2010
March 22, 2010
Gardner Museum Art Theft Anniversary Event
March 10, 2010
ARCA's Art Crime Exhibit Featured on FOX News, Washington DC
March 6, 2010
ARCA Trustee Anthony Amore Featured on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
March 3, 2010
What happens after ARCA's Postgraduate Program in International Art Crime Studies?
Julia has worked in the field of textile conservation for over twenty-five years (in practice). She established Textile Conservation Services in 1995 to serve private collectors, galleries, museums, and institutions. Early training included six years in a private atelier specializing in the conservation of 16th-20th century tapestries, Oriental carpets, Asian textiles and American samplers and quilts. Ms. Brennan helped establish the textile storage and conservation facility at the Philadelphia College of Textile’s Paley Design Center, and was the editor for a manual of conservation stitches. In 1989 she received a Getty Research Grant focusing on the analysis of dyes in historic Thai textiles, as well as treatments for oriental carpets. During her five years as Assistant Conservator for Exhibitions at the Textile Museum in Washington, she prepared over 30 exhibits, and was the guest curator of a contemporary textile show on Faith Ringgold.
She does regular contract work and maintenance of textile collections for The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, The Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, George Washington's Mount Vernon and Smithsonian Institution Museums. For more info about Julia's work see her site "Caring for Textiles". Recently, she contributed a chapter on teaching preventative and textile conservation in Asia and Africa in Frances Lennard and Patricia Ewer eds. Textile Conservation: Advances in Practice. Butterworth Heinemann. March 2010, pp 336.
March 1, 2010
ARCA Trustee Anthony Amore Featured at IFAR's Twenty Years and Counting: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft
ARCA with the National Museum of Crime and Punishment present...
ARCA has partnered with the National Museum of Crime & Punishment to focus on Crimes in the Arts. The exhibit will include information on theft, forgeries and looting. There will be a section devoted to the Gardner Museum Heist, which is an unsolved case of the largest property crime in US History.
ARCA Call for Papers
2nd Annual ARCA Conference in the Study of Art Crime
Amelia, Italy
10-11 July 2010
ARCA (The Association for Research into Crimes against Art), an international non-profit think tank and research group dedicated to the study of art crime and cultural property protection, is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its second annual conference. Papers are welcome from scholars and professionals in any field relevant to art crime and protection, including law, policing, security, art history, conservation, archaeology, and criminology. Please submit a title and abstract (up to 250 words) as well as a professional biography (up to 150 words) by email to director@artcrime.info by May 1.
The conference will be held in the elegant Zodiac Room of Palazzo Petrignani, in the beautiful town of Amelia in the heart of Umbria. The conference will feature the presentation of the annual ARCA Awards to honor outstanding scholars and professionals dedicated to the protection and recovery of international cultural heritage. The goal of the conference is to bring together international scholars, police, and members of the art world to collaborate for the protection of art worldwide.
Please direct any queries and submit papers to director@artcrime.info. For more information on ARCA, please visit www.artcrime.info.
February 25, 2010
NPR's OnPoint Featuring ARCA Trustee Anthony Amore
February 12, 2010
Blood Antiques
"The European art trade, synonymous with wealth and glamour, has always involved a degree of stolen and smuggled art. Now, Afghanistan’s rich cultural heritage is financing terrorism and the Taliban. From Afghans scrabbling in the sand for treasures, to the dazzling show rooms of unscrupulous dealers and private collectors – ‘Blood Antiques’ uncovers one of the most outrageous illegal trades since blood diamonds."
January 19, 2010
Crackdown on Culture Crime: Italy’s Proud Carabinieri Art Squad
January 13, 2010
Numbers Are Important
December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas from the ARCA Staff
A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We at ARCA thank all of our volunteers, supporters, and friends and wish you all the best during the holidays.
December 24, 2009
Report on the IFCPP Art and Book Theft Conference at Ohio State
by Doug McGrew
Perhaps when you recall incidents of cultural property theft your mind dwells on incidents in Europe or major institutions within the United States. Along this same process you remember priceless works of art created from oil and canvass missing from those institutions. Your thought process would only be partially correct.
On November 10th 2009, the Heartland Chapter of the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection organized a daylong seminar titled: Cultural Heritage at Risk, Art and Book Theft: Past, Present, Future. Nearly 100 attendees from the cultural property community around the state of Ohio and beyond attended this event organized by Douglas McGrew and hosted at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts.
The mission for this seminar was simple and unique. Change the perception on what others view as cultural property and change your personal networks. Invitations were sent to a wide base of professionals in the cultural property community. This was an intentional casting according to Doug McGrew and one he believes made this event a successful venture. “We deliberately invited curators, registrars, librarians, archivist, collectors and law enforcement professionals. We wanted them in the same room, sharing observations, meeting new folks outside of their traditional networks. At the end of the day, hopefully, the attendees gained a new understanding of what cultural property is and how to protect our heritage.”
To accomplish this mission featured speakers Noah Charney and Travis McDade were enlisted to share their research and efforts to protecting cultural assets. Professor Travis McDade with the University of Illinois shared findings with the group focusing on thefts of rare books and manuscripts. Thoughtfully Prof. McDade covered cases with connection to the Ohio area and particularly touching on individuals with ties to Columbus the host city for this seminar. Mr. Charney continued the event covering some well known cases but also provided valuable information on prevention and recommendations for improving current procedures within the attendee’s institutions.
The speaking portion of the day was concluded with a roundtable discussion with McDade and Charney. Joining this discussion were:
· Patrick Maughan – former director of security the Ohio State University
· John Kleberg – former director of the Department of Public Safety, the Ohio State University
· Paul Denton – current chief of police, the Ohio State University
The roundtable provided expertise from all sides of the cultural property community, demonstrating the need to have a diverse professional network. After sharing their professional experiences creating, administering and protecting cultural property the entire panel received questions from the guest. The event concluded with the screening of the documentary The Rape of Europa.
Post mortem discussions have been very fruitful and the positive feedback received from participants has been overwhelming. Planning is currently underway for the next installment of what will become a series of events under the Cultural Heritage at Risk banner.