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‘Spectacular’ theft nets $163 million in art

msnbc.msn.com — Three armed men in ski masks stole four paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet worth $163.2 million from a Zurich museum in one of Europe’s largest ever art heists, police said Monday.

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  • ifnotme, on 02/12/2008, -0/+6Reminds me of the Isabella Gardner Museum heist http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/11/26/ctv.traces. ... . I hope they catch them.
    • castevens, on 02/12/2008, -1/+4I live right down the street from the ISGM, and I visit often. It's interesting how they kept the frames from which the canvases were cut out. The thieves were obviously hardly interested in the art from the way they cut them out
    • brad3378, on 02/12/2008, -0/+4If these people are caught, I'd love to see a movie about this incident.
    • a1532b, on 02/12/2008, -0/+2It reminds me of Lupin III...
    • sporg, on 02/12/2008, -0/+3If they kept the art locked in cases with foot thick bullet proof glass these thefts would be easily prevented.
  • iraq, on 02/12/2008, -2/+11Man that amount of money could by a lot of doughnuts.
    • FatLoser, on 02/12/2008, -1/+3Or a lot of paintings.
      • staffrocket, on 02/12/2008, -1/+3Or 4 really good ones.
        • FatLoser, on 02/12/2008, -1/+2This is quite possibly the most genius heist of all time. Steal the 4 paintings you want, so that you have those 4 paintings. Delightful!
        • opticwind, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1Genius...3 guns and a lucky getaway.
    • JLecker, on 02/12/2008, -1/+4This man has his priorities straight.
    • twrife, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1buy
  • Trixcan, on 02/12/2008, -12/+3they must have used windows firewall security for their front door.
    http://digg.com/security/The_Funniest_Windows_Fire ...
  • thelastcivilian, on 02/12/2008, -1/+20I thought this would be an elaborate heist, but no. A gun and a van. I guess all you have to do is choose your museums wisely. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new Dodge Caravan to go out and buy...
    • TH3W1R3D, on 02/12/2008, -1/+4Perfect timing. I have a white one I'm selling. Cash ONLY.
  • macjaeh, on 02/12/2008, -2/+10Mr. Crown would like a word...
  • queenmoweeny, on 02/12/2008, -2/+3I grew up near a prison where one of the inmates called a cab to escape.. and it worked! Sometimes they do this stuff right in front of security. They just don't see!
  • skyshock1, on 02/12/2008, -2/+6That's cool and all, but um, how do you cash those in?? It's not like people don't know they're stolen.
    • riot, on 02/12/2008, -2/+2something like that is stolen with a stealer at hand.
    • FatLoser, on 02/12/2008, -1/+3What if they wanted the paintings?
    • tomarocco, on 02/12/2008, -1/+10I was thinking the same thing and realized that if I were very wealthy I sure wouldn't mind having a historical masterpiece in my "very" private collection. Someone is gonna buy it and it's gonna be very hush hush.
    • MikedaSnipe, on 02/12/2008, -0/+0Black market probably. They aren't going to list it on criegslist. Good chance of getting caught selling it though...
    • MikeGrenade, on 02/12/2008, -1/+5In all likelihood they were hired by someone to pull off the heist. Like tomarocco said, for very private collectors...
    • sporg, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1I blame China.
    • frieddonuts, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1They often hold them hostage as insurance if they ever screw up a bigger job. At least that was what those ***** did with "The Scream."
    • nickdngr, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1Actually, even for private collectors, those pieces are too hot to keep. Anyone who turns up with them will be charged with knowingly purchasing stolen goods. The only way the thieves could make any return on this is by holding them for ransom.
  • Privil3g3, on 02/12/2008, -3/+9I can haz priceless pikchur?
  • neo2007, on 02/12/2008, -2/+4It had to be a contract job. Who would steal such highly publicized artwork with no buyers?
  • lololololol, on 02/12/2008, -3/+1PWNED.
  • GoneGreen, on 02/12/2008, -2/+2Spectacular... no... brazen... yes... ***** up... very!
  • Obonic, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1Guess what paintings just sky rocketed in value.
  • hadak, on 02/12/2008, -3/+1Who would buy an item like that anyway?
    • silverchrysalis, on 02/12/2008, -2/+1very wealthy people who feel that they must own something to truly appreciate it, or to feed their own little screwed-up sense of superiority
  • UNDERSTAR, on 02/12/2008, -3/+2Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
  • arzim, on 02/12/2008, -1/+2did they leave a little black cat statue behind them? then it would be spectacular.
  • MrWhite7, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1Somethings only worth what someone will pay for it... draw your own conclusions... delicious pun.
  • ssmith2k3, on 02/12/2008, -2/+2that's really a huge loss for the art world - those are some amazing paintings. course some guy has to make fun of it - typical callous internet -> http://ownedagain.blogspot.com/2008/02/bhrle-colle ...
  • smurfsahoy, on 02/12/2008, -7/+2Frankly I cant muster up much caring. Ever since we have been able to take these things called "photographs" of artwork, especially 2d artwork that has no intended context in which to be hung, and which doesn't interact with its environment, I don't really see the point of obsessing over the physical original copy.
    • littlewing82, on 02/12/2008, -2/+2I guess you have never seen a Van Gogh in person. In fact, I wonder if you have ever seen a painting in real life before. If you ever get the chance, go to the Louvre, or the D'orsay in Paris. You'll be singing a whole new tune!
      • smurfsahoy, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1Um yes I have been to the Louvre, and most major art museums in the United States, dragged along by my family. And it seemed pointless all along, with the exception of things that actually benefit from being seen in person, like sculpture, architecture, etc.

        I also make a lot of art myself, of all kinds, but the majority is 2 dimensional, and I am fully willing to apply this philosophy to my own work where applicable.
  • mattgilberg, on 02/12/2008, -1/+8It was Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon.
  • travbrack, on 02/12/2008, -6/+1Buried as inaccurate. This has NOTHING to do with the 'net
  • BrianCrosbie, on 02/12/2008, -0/+5Lesson learned.... embed GPS beacons in frames from now on.
  • 24imac, on 02/12/2008, -3/+1It was Thomas Crown.
  • minoss, on 02/12/2008, -0/+2That doesn't sound nearly as dramatic as I was expecting. They basically went in there with guns, took them, and left.
  • vikki77, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1Eh, they'll show up on EBay soon enough.
  • BeyondGoodNEvil, on 02/12/2008, -1/+2Some really ***** looking art for that many clams. I can't fathom how people could figure those are worth anything more than $500 each. Yeah yeah it's what people will pay, but damn those are mediocre works of art.
  • bpacana, on 02/12/2008, -1/+1Heres a GREAT idea... Secretly embed some type of mirodot "lo-jack" system either on the back of these these paintings or in the stretcher frames. They will then be able to track it down in no time if it were ever stolen!
  • Jordan117, on 02/12/2008, -0/+3Assholes. If you want millions, go knock over a bank. Leave the world's great art alone.
  • GabrielRadic, on 02/12/2008, -0/+3They were caught minutes after, when their vehicle suddenly stopped in the middle of a not-so-spectacular car chase. When interrogated, their leader simply stated:

    "We didn't have Monet to buy Degas and make the Van Gogh."

    Cezanne was not available for comment.
  • saturnx8, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1whats so spectacular. They held him up at gun point, and threw $100+ million of paintings in a trunk of a car. thats just armed robbery. Same style of robbery happens all the time in west philly, just not as valuable merchandise.
  • ontain, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1well some rich guy is going to have some nice stuff for his secret collection. :P
  • Dernit, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1They state in the article that it appeared that they took the first four that they came to - so I would guess it's more of a ransom heist than private buyer.
  • dylangaine, on 02/12/2008, -0/+2only $90K reward for $163 million worth of art? and 2 Picassos were stolen last week in Zurich? what the hell is going on over there?
  • xsidekick409, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Its awful that people are selfish enough to want these in their own personal collection. Artwork like this does not deserve to sit in a room where only a handful of people can view it. Furthermore I doubt the person who buys this will store the painting properly and have it checked by conservators regularly.
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