Art Heist

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robeiae

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Apparently, a lone thief made off with five paintings from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, including a Picasso and a Matisse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/10130840.stm

Now here's something interesting. From the above link:
The paintings are estimated to be worth some 500m euros (£431m; $618m).

From a CNN link:
The artworks are worth a total of just less than 100 million euros ($123.7 million), said Christophe Girard, cultural attache to the Paris town hall, which runs the museum.

Bloomberg clarifies:
The paintings are together worth about 100 million euros ($123 million,) Christophe Girard, the Paris city official responsible for culture said as he visited the scene of the crime today. He dismissed earlier reports putting the value as high as 500 million euros.
 

veinglory

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Art valuation is rather difficult, it is based on what an expert thinks someone out there might pay. It is possible that the fact fact they were stolen would add to their glamor and so value.
 

Enzo

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If they're so famous, the thief is not going to find a buyer. Unless, of course, the whole thing was set up from the start by a collector who put in an order with the thieves.
Nothing like an arts or a diamonds theft to fire up my interest in heist movies again.
 

Don

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They roll them up, stick them in a tube, and mail them through the mail drop inside the museum. Didn't you see Entrapment? :)
 

slcboston

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They roll them up, stick them in a tube, and mail them through the mail drop inside the museum. Didn't you see Entrapment? :)

Honestly, I wasn't paying attention to most of that movie, other than certain choice bits.

:D


but, that does seem like a rather large discrepancy. Maybe deliberately downplaying the amount they're worth in an effort to dissuade the thieves or something?

Not sure it would matter, even without a buyer lined up, there are likely ways to sell these through black market routes and such. Or you just sit on them long enough until you can sell them.

I hope they turn up soon, and undamaged, but sometimes these things just disappear.
 

Williebee

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Catherine Zeta-Jones crawls through a few laser beams blindfolded, and guys lose the ability to think
?

Well yeah, what's your point? :)

I wonder if downplaying the value is way of

1) Cutting down the thief's prospective take through a fence. and
2) Cutting into the thief's hopes of profit from reselling it back to the museum?
 

slcboston

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2) Cutting into the thief's hopes of profit from reselling it back to the museum?

do they do that?

I know museums sometimes get them back, but I can't see them paying for it. Granted I'm sure - or would hope - that insurance covers some of the losses from something like that, but I would think that sort of policy would be an almost open invitation to have things stolen.
 

veinglory

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Apparently stolen art is sometimes used in criminal dealings as collateral now that money is harder to move around without attracting attention.
 

Don

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Yep. All the currency laws are resurrecting the ages-old trade standard of barter. It's not just criminal enterprises, either... although most governments consider unreported barter as criminal in and of itself.
 

KTC

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this wouldn't happen to my Matisse.
 

Bird of Prey

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As all of the artists mentioned weren't my favorites, I guess I don't really care other than the security in Paris museums must be amazingly lax. Thank heavens the thieves have a thing for modern or they'd be stalking the Louvre. Still could, I suppose. Watch out, Mona!!
 

darkprincealain

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I'd rather be robbed by her than Pierce Brosnan or DeNiro and Norton.

No thanks on all four counts. :D


Back on topic, I think I pretty much agree that the paintings in question are too famous, and will be bartered rather than trying to sell them to/through a fence. Maybe Girard is trying simply to lower their selling value as stated upthread, or maybe he has particular reason to hope they are bartered. Perhaps there is some way of recovering them easily in that process.
 

Millicent M'Lady

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Have to say, I think "heist" seems to indicate some level of smarts in the criminal. Which is wrong. I think "less dumb than the museum" would be more accurate- how the hell could someone just break a window and rob five world-famous paintings? 0_0
 
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