Art Heist 2010: Museum of Modern Art in Paris

It was on Thursday May 20, 2010, around 7 a.m., that five valuable works of art, valued by some experts to be worth several hundred million dollars, were discovered missing by staff of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, France. When news of the heist was released, Deputy Mayor of Paris Christophe Girard, was reported to have declared the act as a "...crime against the heritage of humanity."

The following paintings were declared stolen from the Paris museum:

"Pastoral" by Henri Matisse

"Landscape with Olive Tree" by Georges Braque

"Woman with a Fan" by Amadeo Modigliani

"Still Life with Candlestick" by Fernand Leger

"Dove with Green Peas" by Pablo Picasso

Investigators from Paris' Brigade de Repression du Banditisme (Brigade of Banditry Repression), an elite armed robbery squad , were called to the scene of the crime and immediately began looking for clues as to who could have perpetrated such a brazen heist.

The thief apparently broke a window and a padlock in order to gain access into the museum, which was believed by many to be one of the most secure in France. A closed circuit television camera that should have been under surveillance at the time of the heist captured the masked lone intruder making off with the paintings. Three security guards were reported to have been on duty during the evening of the heist, but they reported seeing and hearing nothing. It was later reported that multiple alarm systems in the museum were also inoperable for nearly two months.

Unlike the art thieves of high budget Hollywood movies that are often depicted using knives to cut art right from the frame, this art thief carefully removed each work of art from its frame, leaving behind empty frames that were eventually bagged, tagged, and filed away as evidence by police.

Several in the art world suspect the heist was an inside job because of how easy it was for the thief to gain access and how careful the thief was with removing the art pieces from their frames, but these claims have yet to be substantiated. This case remains unsolved and the paintings remain missing to this day, a multimillion dollar reward for information leading to the recovery of the works of art is still in effect.

Since the stolen paintings are too valuable and popular to ever be bought or sold on the open market, Noah Charney, professor of art history and founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art believes the work will be used as collateral or payment in some kind of black market deal to raise money for more illegal operations. He explains that illegal art can carry significant value if trading for illegal guns or narcotics.

Sources:

Lizzy Davis and Sam Jones. "Paris Art Museum Theft the Work of Lone Robber". The Guardian. May 20, 2010.

"Precious Artworks Stolen in Paris Heist". CNN World. May 20, 2010.

Jeffrey T. Iverson. The French Art Heist: Who Would Steal Unsaleable Picassos?. Time. May 20, 2010.

Peter Allen and Victoria Moore. "£430m masterheist: Lone robber in huge art raid... at Paris museum with broken alarm". The Daily Mail. May 21, 2010.

Tim Hewage. "Masterpieces Stolen from Paris Art Museum". Sky News. May 21, 2010.