In 2008, the robbers managed to walk away from the museums, galleries and other cultural institutions many items, the total cost - millions of dollars. To the credit of law enforcement, the majority of the most high-profile art crimes last year revealed

in 2008 was rich in all sorts of unpleasant events - this statement is true not least «through» the efforts of criminals, without tired of forged works of art museums and looting. Most people think that «art-crime» not couple this crime: all the same pictures the kidnappers did not kill and not podsazhivayut thousands of teenagers «on needle», - but to downplay its extent would be a mistake. The general public only learns about the most notorious crimes, yet apart from them every year and thousands have committed minor: someone stole from an elderly collector Landscape XIX century, someone with a gun broke into a small gallery and stole print Shagal , someone forged a picture of a Russian avant-gardist and sold under the guise of this. Do not forget that in the last 40 years of black art market has become the third volume of the world market for illegal profits. Often, funds from the sale of stolen or forged works of art, go to finance other crimes - in particular, arms smuggling and drug trafficking. ARTINFO.som site recently introduced its readers to the list of Top-5 art-crime in 2008.

Art Museum of Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo, Brazil. 20 December 2007 (Found 8 January, 2008)

At the end of 2007, shortly before the Catholic Christmas, at the Art Museum of Sao Paulo was robbery. Three thieves made two paintings - «Portrait of Suzanne Bloch» Pablo Picasso (Pablo Picasso), valued at $ 50 million, and «assembler coffee» Candido Portinari (Candido Portinari), worth 6 million. Robbers managed to get inside, remove from the walls and escape from the scene in just three minutes - then the museum was «a change of the guard». ARTINFO.com notes that in the past five years, this method of robbery has become very popular: the thieves rush into the building, grab the work and run away under new alarm (in a major city police usually respond to a call minutes after three or four). But criminals wasted hurry: no alarm at the Art Museum of Sao Paulo did not vodilos. It seems that no one lost a treasure and could not provide - paintings by Picasso and Portinari, chief «bait» for visitors, were not even insured. But something in the museum did it: the camera surveillance. It's the person captured looters. Soon «shustrikov» managed to identify and arrest - fortunately, they did not manage to sell the painting. A museum has received 1.7 million dollars on a new system of security. But not without a spoon of honey barrels tar: the case of hapless robbers inspired other local bandits. In June, from another museum of Sao Paulo had been stolen two engravings by Picasso, as well as works by Brazilian artists Emilianu Di Cavalcanti (Emiliano di Cavalcanti) and Lazarus Segalla (Lasar Segall) . However, these criminals are not able to become successful by their predecessors: one of Picasso's prints was found in July , and works of Brazilian artists and second work great Spaniard - in August. In a word, is not lucky in the past year, the Brazilian kidnappers Picasso.

Foundation «Collection E. J. Byurlya». Zurich, Switzerland. 10 February 2008

In most films about criminals infiltrating kidnappers paintings in museums and galleries under the cover of night, in gloves and special costumes, quietly removed from the walls and disappears. But in recent years dramatically increased the number of robbers, which really was not gentlemen. Media in all Lada cry about how much prices rose in the arts, and various thugs, who were not previously seen in the love of beauty, drawn to the museums ... in arms. And they are there in broad daylight, raspugivaya other visitors. In February of last year was raided by masked daredevil in Zurich fund «Collection E. J. Byurlya» and holding staff «to fly», removed from the wall paintings Degas (Edgar Degas), Cezanne (Paul Cézanne), Van Gogh (Vincent van Gogh ) and Monet (Claude Monet). The value of all of the stolen works are estimated at 163 million dollars! .. A week earlier from an exhibition in Zurich, were stolen by two works by Picasso ... One would have thought that the local «authorities» indeed entered a love of art, but unfortunately it is not. The two works stolen from the collection Byurlya paintings of Monet and Van Gogh were found very quickly, in the unlocked car parked near the building fund. Of course, the press having a well-founded suspicion: it may be that the criminals have requested a large ransom and the fund managed to raise funds only for the two works? .. In many countries, pay a ransom robbers is prohibited by law, therefore, of course, the Fund did not make any public statement on this topic. History has shown that criminals pay a ransom - is playing with fire. In 1968, of the Addison Gallery of American state of Massachusetts had been stolen several expensive items of silver. Thieves demand ransom, and the gallery obediently agreed to their terms. The items were returned, but soon the criminals stole them again. This time they came with a much more brutally: melt them in pure silver. For gallery and lost their treasure, and a decent amount of money.

Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada. May 24, 2008

In contrast to the Art Museum of Sao Paulo, Museum of Anthropology in the Canadian city of Vancouver was much better protected from looters - but it did not help. May 24, criminals broke into the museum, when a guard came out to smoke. They are thoroughly prepared for the case: put on gas masks and spray the entrance to the museum for aerosol protection against bears, so that no one inadvertently did not prevent them. Then the thieves took out all the surveillance cameras and alarms to clear. So they managed to put 15 items of gold, the three jewels of the Mexican artists and 12 works by Haida artist Bill Reid nation (Bill Reid). Of course, the press immediately began to express fears that the works of art can be to comprehend the plight of hapless silver items stolen in the Addison Gallery in 1968-meters - far too many in recent times was the criminals who re-fuse the ancient artifacts on the pure gold, as outdoor sculpture - at the scrap metal . Selling gold, the criminals would have received only 12.3 thousand dollars, while the works of art estimated at 2 million. Therefore, museum officials called on looters to return items for a fee of 50 thousand dollars in an effort to persuade them that re-fuse them unprofitable. Soon the Canadian Police managed to reach the culprits. It turned out that the abduction of museum exhibits - the work of local bandits, promyshlyayuschih stolen jewelry. Works by Bill Reed, they are not touched, but the Mexican artifacts, unfortunately, was unable to save - the criminals pulled them to pieces to sell gold and precious stones individually.

Odessa Museum of Western and Oriental art. Odessa, Ukraine. July 30, 2008

dark July night in a museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa thieves entered and gently removing a window pane, to get into one of the rooms and the catch away the great canvas of Caravaggio (Caravaggio)« Taking Christ into custody, or the Kiss of Judas » - piknut alarm and did not have. The investigation revealed that the most likely to blame for stealing the painting one of the local organized crime groups. December 6, Ukrainian weekly publication reported that the work was found . But ... was it a boy? That is a boy it was, but this right? .. At this point in the press, this controversy flared. The point is that the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin is another «Taking Christ into custody». This canvas and Odessa «Caravaggio» alike as twin-brothers. Some researchers argue that the artist has created several versions of the same picture, respectively, both of the original, while others say that the canvas of the Odessa museum - it is just good copy. Who will laugh last, yet unclear, but most importantly, that the very thieves is in any case would not be fun.

the British Library and the Library of Bodleya. London, United Kingdom. Offender arrested on November 20, 2008

The police do not get tired to prove the public that there are no works of art thieves, like the elegant Pierce Brosnan (Pierce Brosnan) from the famous movie «scam Thomas Crown». Most of these criminals - the ordinary criminals, who are not even aware of the true value of artifacts, which are stolen from museums. But «Thomas Crown» is sometimes still come across. One was arrested in England in November. Experts British Library and the Library of Bodleya in London for many years, puzzle over who steals rare items from the archives. In autumn of this year discovered that a mysterious kidnapper - none other than Hakimzade Farhad (Farhad Hakimzadeh), businessman, intellectual and expert on rare books. He managed to steal at least 150 rare maps and manuscripts at a cost of 100 thousand dollars. Sell them Hakimzade did not want to - no, because it is already a millionaire. Kleptomania, he is not suffering. The entire blame for the love of beauty. Seeing like the illustration of ancient manuscripts, this refined esthete took a scalpel, carefully cut out the page and takes her home. This was just prior to indecency. In the vast majority of libraries and archives, there are no surveillance cameras and alarm systems - so the theft of rare books and illustrations are the proud title of the lightest «art-crime». The figures speak for themselves: every year from the archives in the United States lost thousands of items at a cost of tens of millions of dollars, and thieves find very difficult. However, the arrest Hakimzade shows that such a crime can be successfully solved.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Source: artinfo.com , artinvestment.ru

P. S. Offenses in the art can also be read:

Ten most wanted works of art

Agents of the FBI under the guise of investigating the theft of works of art

Chapter «art squad» FBI will retire on