Museumize Blog about Museum Reproductions

Old-fashioned Art Heist worth $123M

With cyber crime and identity theft the "nouveau" type of crime, at least one "old-fashioned" thief hand-lifted 5 famous paintings from the French Museum of Modern Art on May 20, 2010. Boldly cutting five paintings from their frames and carrying them out in the wee early hours of the morning, the thief seems to have known about some of the weak links in the museum's security system...alas, the alarm was too soft to hear, the camera's focused on the paintings didn't record, and the paintings weren't insured. According to the article by the Christian Monitor, a 2001 documentary detailed some of the security failings in French museums and it seems our thief knew about this. Estimated at $123 million for a Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Modigliani and Leger, the lone thief has added to his resume one of the most expensive heists of all time.

Read more about the heist here: The Paris Heist

Read about some of the most expensive thefts in recent history: Biggest Art Thefts

The masterworks of French art come to the Bay Area - San Jose Mercury News

If you have an opportunity to visit San Francisco this summer, the new Impressionism show at the deYoung Museum is an important afternoon appointment. In an unprecedented show about French Impressionism, the Musee d'Orsay museum in Paris has loaned the most extensive selection of 19th century French Impressionism art to the US for viewing. While the Musee d'Orsay is closed for rennovation, the French are sharing their history with us. Are you interested in seeing Degas, Renoir, Manet, Monet and other first hand? After the Impressionism show closes, the deYoung will follow up with a second show with Post-Impressionism greats such as van Gogh's "Bedroom at Arles" and Gauguin's "Tahitian Women." This is your opportunity!

The masterworks of French art come to the Bay Area - San Jose Mercury News.

For museum reproductions with beloved images of French Impressionism, visit Impressionist Art Reproductions at Museumize.com