Stolen Picassos Recovered

Sisley, Monet lost when gunmen storm French museum in brazen daylight heist

(NEWSER) - Hooded gunmen stormed a French museum in Nice yesterday afternoon and stole two Brueghel masterpieces, a Sisley, and a Monet. The thieves ordered employees to lie on the floor before stuffing the paintings in bags and fleeing. Police believe the heist was a "special order" for a private buyer because the works are too famous to be sold on the market. More»

Work by Portinari also missing after quick strike in Brazil

(NEWSER) - Thieves broke into Latin America's foremost museum early yesterday and stole two paintings in a 3-minute heist. They made off with a Picasso portrait and a work by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari from Brazil's São Paulo Museum of Art, the AP reports. The thieves skipped several major works and grabbed only the two canvases, hung far apart, leading police to conclude they were stolen on demand. More»

Paris Museum of Modern Art finds 5 masterpieces missing

(NEWSER) - Five paintings—including masterpieces by Matisse and Picasso—were reported missing from the Paris Museum of Modern Art this morning, the AP reports. Staff discovered that a window and padlock had been broken, and security footage shows a person climbing in through the window. The works are worth an estimated $635 million. Experts say the well-known paintings would be impossible to sell openly, and speculate they may have been stolen to order. More»

(NEWSER) - Thieves stole a sketchbook containing 33 Pablo Picasso drawings from the Picasso Museum in Paris, the Daily Mail reports. The security system was somehow disabled and there was no sign of forced entry. The theft occurred sometime last night or early today and resembles the 2007 robbery of the home of one of Picasso’s granddaughters, when two paintings worth $55 million were taken. More»

Studio, burial ground private up til now

(NEWSER) - This summer, art fiends can visit Pablo Picasso’s final resting place for the first time—a château where “he devoted himself completely to his art,” the Telegraph reports. Picasso discovered Château de Vauvenargues in the foothills of France’s Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain made famous by Paul Cézanne. Visitors will see Picasso’s studio, untouched since he last used it, and objects including a dresser and mandolin that appear in his paintings. More»