5 Impressive Art Heists

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In February 2008, armed robbers stole four Impressionist works from the E.G. Bürle Foundation museum.

When three men walked into the E.G. Bürle Foundation museum in Zurich, Switzerland, the masterpieces didn't stand a chance. In broad daylight, one man pulled a gun while the other two grabbed the four paintings closest to the door and all on the same wall: Paul Cézanne's "Boy in the Red Waistcoat," Claude Monet's "Poppy Field at Vétheuil," Edgar Degas' "Ludovic Lepic and His Daughter" and Vincent van Gogh's "Blooming Chestnut Branches." It seems to be pure luck that they grabbed the most valuable piece in the museum's collection, the Cézanne [source: NYT] The thieves got out within minutes, leaving stunned museum patrons and staffers lying face-down on the floor.

The four paintings together are worth approximately $163 million, making it one of the biggest art thefts ever in Europe -- and Europe has seen its share of art theft [source: MSNBC]. Two weeks before the Bürle Foundation heist, two Picassos were stolen from another museum nearby. Thieves grabbed 20 paintings from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam in 1991 and a couple more in 2002. Stockholm's Modern Art Museum lost $60 million in paintings in 1993. The Louvre in Paris lost the "Mona Lisa" in 1911. And "The Scream" was taken from Oslo museums twice in 10 years, in 1994 and then again in 2004. Due to a combination of underfunded security and rising art prices, art theft has become more common in the last couple of decades.

The Bürle thieves didn't have much time to execute their heist, so they ran from the museum with the paintings still in their glass cases. Authorities believe the thieves ditched two of the works -- the Van Gogh and the Monet -- in an abandoned car in a nearby lot because they were just too heavy to carry.

The 2008 robbery proves what museums have been learning for the past couple of decades: Security doesn't mean much when thieves are willing to use force. Art heists are increasingly conducted at gunpoint -- a simple, brute means of physical violence that's not impressive or clever enough to make it into heist movies. The most impressive art heists are the ones in which the criminals rely on something more than physical threats.

In this article, we'll look at five of the most innovative art heists of the last hundred years. Number five on our list took place in Asuncion, Paraguay, and asks the age-old question: How many thieves does it take to dig a tunnel into a museum?

Art Heist Five: The National Fine Arts Museum

Where: Asuncion, Paraguay
When: 2002
Why it's impressive: It takes months to dig an 80-foot tunnel.

In July 2002, Paraguay hosted the most valuable art exhibition in its history. Befitting the occasion, a group of criminals broke in and stole five paintings.

As it turns out, the break-in was months in the planning. At least one man rented a store about 80 feet (25 meters) from the National Fine Arts Museum in Asuncion. Authorities believe he then went about recruiting people to help him dig a tunnel 10 feet underground, running from the shop to the museum. It most likely took two months to complete the tunnel, and after closing time on July 30, 2002, the criminals used it to enter the museum unnoticed.

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Thieves dug an 80-foot tunnel through Asuncion, Paraguay, to reach the National Fine Arts Museum.

The thieves left with more than a million dollars worth of art. The stolen works included "Self Portrait" by Esteban Murillo, "The Virgin Mary and Jesus" by Gustave Coubert and Adolphe Piot's "Landscape." Paraguay now has at least three suspects based on a lead from a witness who claims she was asked by the heist's mastermind to be part of the operation [source: Museum Security]. The paintings are still missing.

Getting in and out underground is a feat. Getting in and out above ground in broad daylight is even more impressive.

Art Heist Four: The Swedish National Museum

Where: Stockholm, Sweden
When: 2000
Why it's impressive: The thieves used distraction tactics right out of Hollywood.

The gang who robbed the National Museum in Sweden in December 2000 knew their stuff: A machine gun will get you the haul, a bomb will distract police, and cars with flat tires can't respond to an alarm.

Their distraction tactics were superb. While three men were inside the museum, accomplices set off two car bombs on the opposite ends of town. Local police scattered, responding to the bombs positioned as far away from museum as possible. At the same time, other accomplices were laying spikes on the roads around the museum. While one man stood inside the museum with a gun, two others located the targeted paintings.

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Thieves used elaborate distraction techniques to steal masterpieces from the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm.

They were in an out in a half hour, leaving with two Renoirs, "Young Parisian" and "Conversation with the Gardner," and a self-portrait by Rembrandt. The paintings were valued at $30 million combined. The getaway vehicle was a speedboat (the museum is on the waterfront).

Because the thieves were looking for specific paintings, authorities at first thought that the job might be a theft-for-hire by an art collector. Several days later, the museum received a call demanding ransom. But in less than two weeks after the heist, police arrested eight men, all of whom were convicted and served jail time. One of the accomplices was a criminal lawyer brought in to negotiate the ransom.

However, the works didn't start reappearing until several years later. Police carrying out a drug raid stumbled on "Conversation with the Gardener," and sent it back to the National Museum. In 2005, the Rembrandt self-portrait was recovered as it was about to be sold to a buyer in Copenhagen [source: WTOP News]. Two more men were convicted in the wake of the sting. "Young Parisian" is still missing.

Clearly, art theft is made easier when the thieves are armed. But what about an international art thief who uses nothing but items from the hardware store?

Art Heist Three: The Van Gogh Museum

Where: Amsterdam
When: 2002
Why it's impressive: All it took was a ladder, a towel and a rope.

On the morning of Dec. 7, 2002, two men (one an international art thief known as "The Monkey" for his ability to elude police) climbed a ladder they found leaning against the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam [source: Vincent Van Gogh Gallery]. Workmen had left it there the day before. The thieves used little more than agility to steal two very famous works.

In plain view of busy park across the street, they climbed up to a second story window, broke the glass with their towel-wrapped elbows, and left by way of a rope ladder holding "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" and "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church at Nuenen," which are worth about $8 million.

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The 1882 painting "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" was one of two works stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

"The Monkey" -- otherwise known as Dutch-born Octave Durham -- lived up to his nickname. The thieves immediately set off an alarm when they broke the glass but were in and out before museum security could respond. By the time the police showed up, the thieves were long gone. They were caught on the museum's security cameras, but they managed to avoid capture for two years. In 2004, police arrested Durham in Spain and his accomplice in Amsterdam, and later convicted them using DNA evidence from hats found at the scene. Since neither painting has been recovered, some experts wonder if the thieves might be smart enough to take advantage of an outdated Dutch law that says an art thief owns what he steals 20 or 30 years after the crime -- as long as he can prove he's the one who stole it [source: Crime Library].

Wait...isn't that hanging on my wall?

In 2007, Steven Spielberg's staff called the FBI about a stolen art work. It turns out Spielberg had unknowingly purchased a Norman Rockwell painting stolen from a Missouri museum in 1973. The FBI has allowed him to keep it until they can determine its rightful owner.

In a more contentious situation, Liz Taylor sued a family that accused her of being in possession of a stolen work. Several people claim that a Van Gogh in Taylor's collection was, in fact, stolen from their great-grandmother by the Nazis. A court ruled in 2007 that it belongs to Taylor, since the Nazi confiscation cannot be proven, and because the family waited too long to claim the work.

The thieves who pulled off the biggest art heist in history won't have a problem proving they committed the crime. Two guards clearly saw their faces, although the guys wore costume-style fake mustaches.

Art Heist Two: The Isabella Gardner Museum

Where: Boston
When: 1990
Why it's impressive: The highest-value art heist in history was pulled off by guys in fake mustaches.

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The Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston was the site of the highest-value art heist in history.

Two men managed to steal $200 million to $300 million in paintings using the art of disguise. At around 1:30 a.m. on March 18, 1990, thieves knocked in the museum's door. The museum guards on duty looked out and saw two police officers with big black mustaches they would later recall as being laughable [source: Boston.com]. The mustached officers said they were there to check out a reported disturbance. The guards let them in to look around.

Within minutes, the guards found themselves bound, and the thieves spent the next hour or so gathering three Rembrandts, five Degas sketches, a Vermeer and a Manet painting, a Shang Dynasty Chinese vase and a bronze eagle that topped a Napoleon-era flag. While they were tearing one of the Rembrandts from its frame, an alarm went off, but they located the source, smashed it silent, and went about their business. The police never showed up because it was simply an internal alarm meant to tell guards when people were getting too close to the art [source: Boston.com]. The thieves were apparently not art lovers themselves as they actually cut the canvases from their frames. They told the guards the museum would be receiving a ransom demand, and then made two trips to get all of the works to their car [source: Crime Library].

But the museum never received a ransom demand. The thieves are still at large, and none of the works has been recovered, despite a $5 million reward put up by the museum. Someone sent a letter to the museum in 1994, claiming he or she would return the works but nothing came of it [source: Boston.com]. The FBI continues to investigate the crime. The district attorney of Boston has even promised not to prosecute whoever returns the works [source: Boston.com].

While the Gardener Museum is the site of the biggest heist in history, it's not the most famous. In the early 1900s, the Louvre lost the most recognized painting in the world to an inside job.

Art Heist One: The Louvre

Where: Paris
When: 1911
Why it's impressive: A custodian left unnoticed with the most famous painting in history tucked under his shirt.

In 1911, da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris in a theft that shocked the world. Vincenzo Perugia, an Italian immigrant working as a custodian in the museum, finished his shift on August 20 and hid in a small room. When everyone had left, he walked out the room, carefully removed the painting from its frame and stuck it under his uniform. He left the museum, and the masterpiece disappeared for two years.

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The police record of Vincenzo Perugia who attempted to steal the "Mona Lisa" in 1911.

Staff actually didn't know the "Mona Lisa" was missing until the end of the next day. When they saw the empty space on the wall, they assumed the painting had been removed for upkeep. Finally, they called the police, but there were no clues at the scene.

Two years later, Perugia was captured. He claimed he felt compelled to return the painting to Italy, da Vinci's homeland, out of a sense of patriotism. He was caught trying to sell the painting to a dealer in Italy who immediately called the police when he realized Perugia was holding the real thing.

More Heists

The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester, England, was relieved of three masterpieces in 2003: "Tahitian Landscape" by Gauguin, "Fortification of Paris with Houses" by Van Gogh, and "Poverty" by Picasso. The theft went undetected by guards, security cameras and the museum alarm system. An anonymous tip led police to a public restroom the next day, where they found all three works stashed behind a toilet in a cardboard tube.

Thieves hit Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland in 2003. They entered dressed as tourists, attacked a tour guide, grabbed a $65 million painting off the wall and escaped to a getaway car. They left with Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna of the Yarnwinder," considered to be the artist's greatest work (next to the "Mona Lisa") [source: Crime Library]. Neither the thieves nor the painting has been found.

For more information on art heists and related topics, including how thieves can sell stolen works, look over the links on the next page.

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