art crime

The art world is a buzz with one of the largest art heists to ever take place in Europe. It was right out of a movie scene — three men in ski masks, walking into a private museum in Zurich, grabbing four 19th-century masterpieces, tossing them into a van and speeding off.

The estimated value of the art? $163 million.

So, my first question was, “Ok, so they stole it. But how can they sell it?” Turns out my thoughts were right in line with the rest of the art community which is talking in the aftermath of the heist about how stealing the paintings, by Monet, Degas, van Gogh and Cezanneart, was one thing, but selling them could be much harder.

An expert quoted in a New York Sun article says that there is no way the art could be sold in a legitimate art market. They’re just too famous. Instead, thieves may use the artwork as collateral for a drugs or an arms deal.

In other cases thieves may hope to collect on a reward or negotiate a payoff, especially when the work is insured. I didn’t know this before, but apparently there is debate in the art world about whether insurance money should be used to buy back stolen art, as doing so could encourage further thefts.