$160M in Art Stolen in Zurich

'Spectacular' heist nets 4 masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 11, 2008 9:10 AM CST

(Newser) – A gang of armed art thieves absconded with four masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne worth $160 million from a Zurich museum yesterday. The brazen daytime robbery follows a theft of two Picassos in Switzerland just two days earlier. The three masked thieves confronted a guard with guns, grabbed the paintings, and took off in a white vehicle, said authorities, who described the operation as a "spectacular" heist.

Monet's Poppies Near Vetheuil, Degas' Count Lepic and His Daughters, Van Gogh's Chestnut in Bloom, and Boy in the Red Waistcoat by Paul Cezanne were taken. Police are hunting for yesterday's thieves as well as those who took the Picassos, which were on loan from Germany to another Swiss town.

Poppies near Vetheuil, by Claude Monet, one of the paintings stolen in a heist being described as "spectacular" by law enforcement. (AFP)

One of the paintings stolen, Count Lepic and his Daughters, by Edgar Degas (1871) is seen here in reproduction. (Public Domain)

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$160M in Art Stolen in Zurich

'Spectacular' heist nets 4 masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne

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Stolen Art Found in Parking Lot

4 paintings snatched from Swiss museum recovered

Thieves Nab a Picasso in Museum Heist

Work by Portinari also missing after quick strike in Brazil

Scottish Cops Recover Stolen da Vinci in Law Office Raid

Four busted in brazen castle heist

Qatar Buys Cézanne Painting for Record $250M

It's the most ever paid for an artwork

Recovered $50M Van Gogh Actually ... Still Missing

'Poppy Flowers' was taken from museum in Egypt

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'Spectacular' heist nets 4 masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

art • theft • painting • Vincent Van Gogh • Monet • Cezanne • Degas • art heist

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Stolen Art Found in Parking Lot

4 paintings snatched from Swiss museum recovered

Thieves Nab a Picasso in Museum Heist

Work by Portinari also missing after quick strike in Brazil

Scottish Cops Recover Stolen da Vinci in Law Office Raid

Four busted in brazen castle heist

Qatar Buys Cézanne Painting for Record $250M

It's the most ever paid for an artwork

Recovered $50M Van Gogh Actually ... Still Missing

'Poppy Flowers' was taken from museum in Egypt

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