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The 20th Century's Biggest Art Heists

Even the Mona Lisa was lifted once

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted May 21, 2010 12:15 PM CDT

(Newser) – Yesterday’s massive theft from the Paris Museum of Modern Art is already being called the “heist of the century,” although we have a few years yet to see how it holds up. The Independent looked over the 20th century and compiled a list of 10 major art thefts. View a sampling in the gallery, or for the complete slideshow, click here.

A Louvre employee stole the Mona Lisa from the museum in 1911. He was found with the painting in Italy 2 years later.
A Louvre employee stole the Mona Lisa from the museum in 1911. He was found with the painting in Italy 2 years later.   (AP Photo/Reunion de Musees Nationaux di Parigi and Journal des Arts)
In 1990, thieves disguised as guards stole 13 paintings--including Manet's Chez Tortoni--worth a total of $500 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The case remains unsolved.
In 1990, thieves disguised as guards stole 13 paintings--including Manet's "Chez Tortoni"--worth a total of $500 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The case remains unsolved.   (AP Photo/Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
Edvard Munch's The Scream was stolen from Oslo's National Gallery in 1994 and recovered later that year. In 2004, another version was stolen from the Munch Museum; it turned up 2 years later.
Edvard Munch's "The Scream" was stolen from Oslo's National Gallery in 1994 and recovered later that year. In 2004, another version was stolen from the Munch Museum; it turned up 2 years later.   (AP Photo/Stian Lysberg Solum / Scanpix Norway)
A number of Impressionist paintings with a combined value of $163 million, including Edgar Degas' Ludovic Lepic and his Daughter, were lifted from the Emile Buhrle Foundation in Zurich in 2008.
A number of Impressionist paintings with a combined value of $163 million, including Edgar Degas' "Ludovic Lepic and his Daughter," were lifted from the Emile Buhrle Foundation in Zurich in 2008.   (AP Photo/Keystone/Stadtpolizei Zuerich via Foundation E.G. Buehrle Collection)
Three men broke into Sao Paulo's Pinacoteca do Estado Museum with a crowbar in 2008 and stole five valuable paintings, including Picasso's The Painter and the Model.
Three men broke into Sao Paulo's Pinacoteca do Estado Museum with a crowbar in 2008 and stole five valuable paintings, including Picasso's "The Painter and the Model."   (AP Photo/Keystone, Georgios Kefalas)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
CHRiSTFELD
May 21, 2010 7:34 PM CDT
"[crickets chirping]"

 
art museum • theft • museum • museums • heist • art heist • art theft

 
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