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neither painting has been recovered, some experts wonder if the thieves might be smart enough to take advantage of an outdated Dutch law that says an art thief owns what he steals 20 or 30 years after the crime -- as long as he can prove he's the one who stole it [source: Crime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.