Cimbrone

160 million dollars worth of paintings--a Cezanne, a Van Gogh, a Degas, and a Monet--were stolen at gunpoint from Zurich's Buhrle Museum on Sunday. Assuming these thieves aren't just going to hang these works in their living room and enjoy the beauty of their booty, how does an art thief profit from such a high profile theft?

AAFrequentFlyer

Private buyers. It's a small circle but the thieves probably have an "order" already.

OTOH, police and insurance agents also have some knowledge as to who may possibly be looking for the paintings and keep an eye on them.

At the end it's usually the ego of the buyers that gets them in trouble. They just can't resist showing off their collection to one too many of their business associates or friends or? and somebody eventually reports on them.

DejaVu

Alternatively, the thieves may be planning not to sell them (because they know they can't--on the open market, anyway) but instead to hold them for "ransom." Since the Buehrle Foundation is a private foundation and not run by the government, that strikes me as a good possibility in this case.

quokka

Most probably they first acquired the customer and then the merchandise. Some greedy collectors will pay any price and don't care if the painting is stolen.

amyb

All the press I have read on this indicates that this wasn't an "order" they were filling but probably more a random take. The four paintings were on the same wall displayed in a row and there were better/more valuable paintings elsewhere in the museum. There are actually three other copies of the Cezanne out there, so that wouldn't really be a great piece to snatch.

Cimbrone

One expert said that it's likely to change hands a few times and then, in 10 years or so, someone will contact the police for a reward.

If that's the case couldn't arrests be made for purchasing what is obviously stolen artworks?

And if they are held for ransom, wouldn't arrests be made...or are there ways to secure ransom without being captured?

kleeblatt

And it's not even our first art theft this week:

"On February 6, 2008 two paintings by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso were stolen from an exhibition of the artist's works at the Seedamm culture centre in Pfäffikon, canton Schwyz. The 1962 "Tête de cheval" (Horse's head) and the 1944 "Verre et pichet" (Glass and jug), both on loan from the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany, are believed to be worth several million Swiss francs."
Taken from: http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/H...02817000&ty=st

I refuse to believe this is just a coincidence.

ira

Hi C,

>...or are there ways to secure ransom without being captured?

If I told you how, I would have to kill you.

D. Corlione