Artworks lost or stolen Part 5
2000’s
The Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, England saw three of its most famous works stolen in 2003 – prized paintings by Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin. They went missing on 23 April after thieves entered the building overnight in an undetected raid. The paintings were worth, in total, around $5 million (£4m).
After a tip-off, the paintings were discovered by police in a nearby public toilet, a couple of days after the theft. They had been rolled up in a cardboard tube with an attached note: “The intention was not to steal. Only to highlight the woeful security.” We will probably never know the real intention. Predictably, the UK popular press referred to the toilet treasure house as “the Loo-vre”.
Source: https://www.manchestersfinest.com/articles/unsolved-mysteries-the-4m-art-theft- that-wasnt-a-theft/
2010’s
The Painting by Vincent Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers was stolen from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo in August 2010. The painting depicts yellow and red poppy flowers against a dark background and is small in size, measuring just 65 x 54 centimetres. It has an estimated value of over US$50 million.
The robbery in August 2010 wasn’t the first time the painting had been stolen; it was taken from the same museum in June of 1977. It was recovered ten years later in Kuwait.
In October 2010, an Egyptian court found 11 culture ministry employees guilty of negligence and professional delinquency.
2010’s
The Painting by Vincent Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers was stolen from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo in August 2010. The painting depicts yellow and red poppy flowers against a dark background and is small in size, measuring just 65 x 54 centimetres. It has an estimated value of over US$50 million.
The robbery in August 2010 wasn’t the first time the painting had been stolen; it was taken from the same museum in June of 1977. It was recovered ten years later in Kuwait.
In October 2010, an Egyptian court found 11 culture ministry employees guilty of negligence and professional delinquency.
The paintings location is still unknown.
2020’s
While the world was coming to terms with covid 19 a thief, who arrived on a motorcycle, stole Van Gogh’s The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring from the Singer Laren Museum in the early hours of 30th March 2020.
The thief used a sledgehammer to smash his way through reinforced glass doors at the museum. He snatched the painting and ran out with it tucked under his arm. The painting was on loan from the Groninger Museum when it was taken. The museum had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Taken on Van Gogh’s birthday. It was recovered three and a half years later in September 2023. Delivered to the art detective, Arthur Brand, in a blue plastic Ikea bag.
