Two Stories About Stolen Art

Austria has recently settled with Frau Altmann on the matter of five Gustav Klimt paintings. Sort of. Austria has agreed to return the paintings to Maria Altmann, but there’s dissent around a buy back program that would allow the Belevedere Museum to keep some of the famous works.

From the Neue Zeicher Zeitung via Sign and Sight:

“When Maria Altmann wrote to the Austrian government seven years ago indicating her readiness to negotiate, her letter was not even answered by Elisabeth Gehrer, the minister responsible. Now the case is over, Gehrer’s restitution policy is seriously damaged. During the court case, the government side did not show the slightest conciliatory gesture. Now everyone is up in arms.”

To make matters worse, the paintings were recently taken down because of threats against them. The BBC says the threat-maker was arrested and used the classic excuse: “I was drunk.” This story begs the question: What kind of idiot makes a threat via email?

The other big story is about the return – after nearly three years – of a stolen Cellini. I was in the museum in question around the time of the theft, and I can totally see how it happened.The museum was under renovations and there were big ladders in the courtyards leaning up against open windows. The story was that security was apathetic because, due to the construction work, false alarms and other noisy distractions were frequent occurrences.

After failing to ransom or sell the thing, the thief arranged a handoff using his cell phone. Some clever detective work mapped the call to the place where the phone was purchased…to the purchase records for phones… to the video surveillance tapes of the day that the phone was purchased… and a wanted poster was published. The thief was recognized immediately and – I love this – complained to the police about how he was being harassed because he resembled the guy on the posters. Chutzpah, no? Also, this story begs the question: What kind of idiot delivers a ransom note via cell phone?

“Because I went to art school” sidebar: The Klimt paintings are freaky beautiful. The Cellini, on the other hand, a baroque doorstop. What an eyesore. Yeesh. No wonder he couldn’t sell it.

Also, oddly cool, the FBI has an art theft page. Who knew?! I notice you don’t see the Elgin Marbles when you click Greece.