RODIN SCULPTURE STOLEN FROM ISRAEL MUSEUM

A STATUE BY FRENCH SCULPTOR AUGUSTE RODIN WAS STOLEN FROM THE ISRAEL MUSEUM DURING THE FACILITY'S RECENTLY COMPLETED RENOVATION, THE MUSEUM SAID WEDNESDAY. THE NUDE BRONZE OF FRENCH NOVELIST HONORE DE BALZAC WAS ONE OF A SERIES OF STUDIES RODIN CAST FOR A MONUMENT TO BALZAC ON DISPLAY IN PARIS. IT WAS DONATED TO THE MUSEUM IN 1966 BY THE JEWISH-AMERICAN IMPRESARIO AND LYRICIST BILLY ROSE. THE MUSEUM SAID THE THEFT WAS DISCOVERED THREE MONTHS AGO AND IMMEDIATELY REPORTED IT TO POLICE. POLICE SAY AN INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING BUT WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT THE CASE. THE STATUE IS 50 INCHES BY 24 INCHES WIDE AND WEIGHS ABOUT 140 POUNDS. IT WAS MOLDED IN 1892 AND CAST POSTHUMOUSLY BETWEEN 1918 AND 1926. RODIN IS RENOWNED FOR THE ICONIC MASTERPIECES SUCH AS 'THE THINKER' AND 'THE KISS'. THE MUSEUM SAID IT COULD NOT PROVIDE A VALUE FOR THE BALZAC PIECE. BUT BASED ON RODIN SCULPTURES OF SIMILAR DIMENSIONS PUT THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE STOLEN ARTWORK AT APPROXIMATELY $350,000, ACCORDING TO THE ART LOSS REGISTER, WHICH SPECIALIZES IN RECOVERING STOLEN ART. CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ART LOSS REGISTER, SAID IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO SELL SUCH AN HIGH-PROFILE PIECE IN THE OPEN MARKET WITHOUT DETECTION. HE SAID IT WAS MOST LIKELY THAT THE THIEVES WOULD MOVE THE PIECE UNDERGROUND, SHOP IT ON THE BLACK MARKET OR RANSOM IT TO AN INSURANCE COMPANY.

ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM TRIES TO PROTECT EGYPTIAN MASK FROM SEIZURE

THE ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM HAS FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT TO TRY TO KEEP A 3,200 YEAR OLD MUMMY MASK THAT EGYPT WANTS RETURNED, CLAIMING IT WAS STOLEN NEARLY TWO DECADES AGO. THE MUSEUM CLAIMS THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO SEIZE THE 20 INCH LONG FUNERAL MASK OF KA-NEFER-NEFER AND RETURN IT TO EGYPT. BUT THE MUSEUM SAYS IT HAS LEGAL RIGHTS TO THE MASK IT PURCHASED FROM A NEW YORK ART DEALER FOR $499,000 IN 1998. EGYPT OFFICIALS HAVE CLAIMED THE MASK WAS STOLEN IN THE EARLY 1990s FROM A STORAGE ROOM NEAR A PYRAMID. THE SUIT, FILED IN FEDERAL COURT IN ST LOUIS ON TUESDAY, CLAIMS THERE IS NO PROOF THE MASK WAS EVER STOLEN. IT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS HAS EXPIRED FOR ANY SEIZURE.

THIEVES TRY TO SELL STOLEN ARTWORK AT SCRAPYARD

POLICE HAVE RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION 34 OF THE 35 WORKS OF ART THAT WERE STOLEN FROM A TRUCK THREE WEEKS AGO IN GETAFE (MADRID) AND WHICH ARE WORTH MORE THAN $4 MILLION. THE SAME SOURCES ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, FOR NOW, THEY FAILED TO APPREHEND THE PERPETRATORS OF THE ROBBERY. THE VEHICLE, WHOSE KEYS WERE KEPT IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT, WAS ABANDONED IN ALCORCON TO CONFUSE OFFICIALS. ALTHOUGH IT WAS INITIALLY THOUGHT THAT THE WORKS OF ART WERE STOLEN ON REQUEST AND THAT THEY MAY HAVE ALREADY HAVE HAD A BUYER, WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME THE INVESTIGATION TOOK A TURN AFTER IT EMERGED THAT A SCULPTURE BY CHILLIDA HAD ENDED UP IN A JUNKYARD. THE STARTLING REVELATION SHOWS THAT THE THIEVES (THREE MASKED MEN WHO DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO SWITCH OFF THE ALARMS) WERE MET WITH A COMMODITY THEY DID NOT EXPECT AND DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO WITH IT. ACCORDING TO THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION, THE THIEVES TRANSFERRED THE WORKS TO A VAN AFTER LEAVING THE TRUCK. THE INVESTIGATING OFFICERS INITIALLY FOUND A WORK BY CHILLIDA, THE THIEVES HAD SOLD IT AT A JUNKYARD IN MADRID FOR $50. THE LEAD ALLOWED THEM TO FIND 33 OF THE STOLEN ARTWORKS IN A VAN. ALL THE STOLEN MATERIAL IS IN GOOD CONDITION AND MOST OF WERE PROTECTED IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGING. ONLY ONE OF THE BOXES WAS RECOVERED BROKEN. THE OWNER OF THE JUAN GRIS GALLERY, THE FINAL DESTINATION OF THE STOLEN ART, ACKNOWLEDGED THE 'UNEXPECTED' NEWS. DAVID FERNANDEZ BRASO CONFESSED THAT 'HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE' TO RECOVER THE WORKS AND THAT IT WAS 'A ROBBERY DONE BY PROFESSIONALS'. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT IT WAS QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART RETURNS NEREID SWEETMEAT STAND TO HEIRS

FOLLOWING A US IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT'S (ICE) HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS (HSI) INVESTIGATION, THE UNITED STATES HAS ENTERED INTO A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, OHIO, THAT PROVIDES FOR THE RETURN TO A ROYAL FAMILY IN GERMANY OF THE 'NEREID SWEETMEAT STAND', A FAMED SWAN SERVICE COLLECTION'S CENTERPIECE. DURING WORLD WAR II, WHILE ON LOAN TO THE DRESDEN MUSEUM FROM THE FAMILY OF THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF SAXONY, THE 'NEREID SWEETMEAT STAND' WAS STOLEN FROM A CASTLE WHERE IT WAS HIDDEN. THE PORCELAIN PIECE, VALUED AT MORE THAN $1 MILLION, WAS RECENTLY LOCATED AT THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, WHICH HAS AGREED TO RETURN IT TO THE HEIRS OF THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER. IN 1737, COUNT HEINRICH VON BRUEHL, THE PRIME MINSTER OF SAXONY AND THE FOUNDING PATRON OF THE MEISSEN PORCELAIN FACTORY, ORDERED THE FACTORY'S CHIEF MODELER TO CREATE A ROYAL DINNER SERVICE. THE RESULT, FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING, WAS THE SWAN SERVICE, A SERVICE FOR 100 COMPRISING 2,200 PIECES. THE NEREID SWEETMEAT STAND, PART OF THE CENTERPIECE ARRANGEMENT, IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MASTERPIECES OF THE COLLECTION. IN AUGUST 1920, THE DRESDEN MUSEUM RECEIVED 25 PIECES FROM THE SWAN SERVICE, INCLUDING THE NEREID STAND, ON PERMANENT LOAN FROM THE VON BRUEHL FAMILY. THESE PIECES AND 12 OTHERS FROM THE SWAN SERVICE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM AFTER 1920, WERE HIDDEN AT THE REICHSTAEDT CASTLE IN GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR II. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR, THE BOXES WERE FOUND OPENED WITH THE NEREID STAND AND SEVERAL OTHER PIECES MISSING. IN 1955, THE STAND WAS PURCHASED FROM A EUROPEAN ART DEALER, SUBSEQUENTLY IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES, AND SOLD TO THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART. RECENTLY, THE STAND WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE STOLEN NEREID SWEETMEAT STAND AFTER BEING EXAMINED BY STAFF FROM THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, THE DRESDEN MUSEUM, THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART AND SPECIAL AGENTS FROM ICE AND HSI.

POLICE SEARCH FOR STOLEN NEW YORK ART COLLECTION

AUTHORITIES ARE RAMPING UP THEIR EFFORT TO SOLVE A MANHATTAN MYSTERY: WHO DRILLED A HOLE INTO THE HOME OF A BEEF FORTUNE HEIR AND STOLE A COLLECTION OF ICONIC ARTWORKS BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN AND ANDY WARHOL. THE THIEVES ALSO MADE OFF WITH SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FOOTAGE THAT MIGHT HAVE CAUGHT THEM IN THE ACT. THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT RELEASED IMAGES OF THE ART, HOPING SOMEONE MIGHT HELP SOLVE LAST MONTH'S CRIME IN THE TRENDY MEATPACKING DISTRICT BY RECOGNIZING WORKS LIKE THE WELL-KNOWN LICHTENSTEIN PRINT CALLED 'THINKING NUDE'. AUTHORITIES ESTIMATE THE FIVE-STORY APARTMENT WAS BURGLARIZED SOMETIME DURING THANKSGIVING WEEK, WHEN THE OWNER AND ART COLLECTOR ROBERT ROMANOFF WAS AWAY. ALSO TAKEN FROM THE BUILDING WAS A LICHTENSTEIN PRINT CALLED 'MOONSCAPE', THE CARL FUDGE OIL PAINTING 'LIVE CAT', THE WARHOL PRINTS 'THE TRUCK' AND 'SUPERMAN', AND A SET OF EIGHT SIGNED WARHOL PRINTS FROM 1968 CALLED 'CAMOUFLAGE'. THEY'RE AMONG THE ARTIST'S LAST WORKS BEFORE HIS DEATH THE FOLLOWING YEAR. AUTHORITIES ESTIMATE THE ARTWORKS, PLUS A STOLEN CARTIER AND ROLEX WATCHES AND OTHER JEWELRY, ARE WORTH OVER $750,000. THE ROMANOFF HOME IS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD FILLED WITH OLD WAREHOUSES AND MEATPACKING COMPANIES NOW TURNED INTO RETAIL AND LIVING SPACE, RESTAURANTS AND BOUTIQUES. POLICE SAY THE THIEF DRILLED A HOLE THROUGH THE WALL OF A HALLWAY SOMETIME BETWEEN 24-28.NOVEMBER. LICHTENSTEIN, WHO DIED IN 1997, CREATED 'THINKING NUDE' IN 1994, ONE OF 40 ILLUSTRATED EDITION WORKS THAT ARE PART OF HIS 'NUDES' SERIES BASED ON COMIC-BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS. A SIMILAR PRINT RECENTLY SOLD FOR $85,000 AT CHRISTIE'S, ACCORDING TO THE AUCTION HOUSE'S WEBSITE. WARHOL'S 'SUPERMAN' PRINT IS PART OF HIS 1980s 'MYTHS' SERIES FEATURING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS WITH MASS-CULTURAL APPEAL, INCLUDING MICKEY MOUSE AND UNCLE SAM.

STOLEN ARTWORKS TO BE RETURNED

SIXTEEN PAINTINGS THAT HAD BEEN STOLEN AT VARIOUS TIMES FROM PRIVATE HOMES AND CHURCHES WILL BE BACK BY CHRISTMAS, TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS. THE WORKS OF ART SEIZED BY POLICE IN SEPTEMBER FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE HOUSE OF A ROMAN DESIGNER AND 'AT LARGE WERE REPORTED STOLEN TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR OF ROME. IN HIS HOUSE WERE FOUND AND PHOTOGRAPHED 180 PAINTINGS FROM VARIOUS PERIODS, PURCHASED IN MARKETS AND FAIRS ACROSS ITALY, DURING A PERIOD OF OVER 30 YEARS. THE INVESTIGATION, SAID LT COL RAFFAELE MANCINO, STARTED BY THE REQUEST OF A COLLECTOR FROM ROME, WHO WANTED TO BUY A PAINTING BY THE SIENESE SCHOOL OF THE 15th CENTURY, AND IT WAS 'DIRECTED TO THE DEPARTMENT TO VERIFY THE LEGAL ORIGIN'. HAVING ESTABLISHED THAT THE PAINTING OF THE 'SUICIDE OF CLEOPATRA' WAS INCLUDED IN THE DATABASE WITH THE COMMAND OF UNLAWFULLY REMOVED CULTURAL PROPERTY, STARTED OFF THE INVESTIGATION. AFTER A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PAINTING WAS STOLEN ON 28.MAY.1972 FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI IN PIENZA, IN THE PROVINCE OF SIENA. THE FINDING ALLOWED THE RECOVERY OF ANOTHER 15 PAINTINGS, PARTIAL PROCEEDS OF TEN ROBBERIES COMMITTED IN PRIVATE HOMES OF ROME, CHURCHES AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS IN CENTRAL ITALY, FOR THE VALUE OF APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION EUROS.

BERLIN'S ALTE NATIONALGALERIE PRESENTS AN EXHIBITION OF RETURNED WORKS

A PAINTING OF THE FLORENCE SKYLINE THAT HUNG IN ADOLF HITLER'S BERLIN APARTMENT THROUGHOUT WORLD WAR II AND WAS MISSING FOR DECADES WENT ON DISPLAY RECENTLY IN AN EXHIBITION OF WORKS RETURNED TO THE COLLECTION OF A MAJOR GERMAN MUSEUM. THE EXHIBITION CENTERS ON 18 WORKS RETURNED TO THE ALTE NATIONALGALERIE OVER THE PAST DECADE, MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY SINCE THEY WERE REMOVED FROM ITS PREMISES. IT ALSO USES OFFICIAL AND LOAN LISTS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS TO SHOW HOW THE PIECES WERE TAKEN DOWN FROM THE MUSEUM WALLS TO WIND UP ON ODYSSEYS THROUGH FLAK TOWERS, SALT MINES AND WATER-SOAKED CELLARS. MANY OF THE WORKS FOUND THEIR WAY INTO PRIVATE HANDS, BUT MUSEUM OFFICIALS SAY A RECENT INTERNATIONAL PUSH FOR RESTITUTION HAS RESULTED IN AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF WORKS RETURNING TO THE MUSEUM IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. AT THE END OF THE WORLD WAR II IN 1945, SOME 800 WORKS THAT HAD BEEN IN THE COLLECTION OF THE ALTE NATIONALGALERIE WERE MISSING. ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THEM WERE RECOVERED BY THE END OF THE 1950s. SINCE 1990, MORE THAN TWO DOZEN OTHERS HAVE BEEN RETURNED, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE EXHIBITION. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, INCLUDING GERMANY'S, AND BERLIN'S, REUNIFICATION AND USE OF THE INTERNET TO CIRCULATE DATABASES, HOWEVER, HAVE MADE IT EASIER TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MISSING ARTWORKS, LEADING TO A JUMP IN THE NUMBER OF RETURNS SINCE 2000, BERLIN MUSEUM DIRECTOR MICHAEL EISSENHAUER SAID. 'A VIEW OF FLORENCE', BY 19th CENTURY PAINTER WILHELM AHLBORNS, WAS ONE OF 68 WORKS LOANED BY THE GALLERY TO THE NAZI REGIME AND HUNG IN HITLER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS AT HIS CHANCELLERY. EARLIER THIS YEAR, IT TURNED UP IN A BERLIN ART GALLERY, WHICH IN TURN ALERTED THE MUSEUM. ONCE THE GALLERY PROVES OWNERSHIP, USING PRE-WAR DOCUMENTATION OR MARKINGS ON THE PAINTINGS THEMSELVES, IT HAS BEEN ABLE TO NEGOTIATE A 'FINDER'S FEE' FOR THE CURRENT OWNERS, WORTH ROUGHLY 10% OF THE ARTWORK'S MARKET VALUE. ANOTHER WORK IN THE EXHIBIT, WHICH OPENED TO THE PUBLIC FRIDAY AND RUNS THROUGH 6.MARCH.2011, WAS REACQUIRED BY THE MUSEUM IN OCTOBER. IN 1942, 'DOG WITH GRAY HORSE' BY ENGLISH PAINTER WILLIAM COLE, HAD BEEN HUNG BY NAZI OFFICIALS IN A BERLIN VILLA THAT WAS TO HOUSE THE THEN EXILED IRAQI PRIME MINISTER. AT THE WAR'S END, HE MOVED SOUTH TO A VILLAGE OUTSIDE DRESDEN AND THE PAINTING WAS GIVEN TO THE HOUSEKEEPER AS PAYMENT. A DESCENDANT OF THE HOUSEKEEPER IDENTIFIED IT THROUGH A DATABASE OF LOST ARTWORK AND CONTACTED THE MUSEUM, REFLECTING WHAT EISSENHAUER CALLED A GENERATION CHANGE THAT IS BENEFITING THE MUSEUM. 'MANY PAINTINGS ARE CHANGING HANDS AND THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS STARTING TO ASK WHERE THEY CAME FROM', EISSENHAUR SAID. 'WE ARE HOPING THAT THE CURVE WILL CONTINUE TO GO UP.'

APHRODITE STATUE TO BE RETURNED TO SICILY

THE LOVE GODDESS APHRODITE IS GOING HOME TO ITALY AFTER THE NEW YEAR, STRONGER AND MORE STABLE THAN SHE HAS BEEN IN 2,500 YEARS. THE STATUE, BEING RETURNED TO SICILY AS PART OF ITALY'S DECADE-OLD CAMPAIGN TO RETRIEVE ANTIQUITIES IT SAYS WERE ILLEGALLY BROUGHT TO CALIFORNIA, WILL BE THE LAST OF 40 ARTIFACTS THE J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM AGREED TO TURN OVER. SEBASTIANO MISSINEO, THE MINISTER OF CULTURE FROM SICILY, VISITED THE GETTY VILLA IN MALIBU ON MONDAY AND VIEWED THE STATUE. THE STATUE WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE GETTY FOR ONE MORE WEEK, ACTING GETTY DIRECTOR DAVID BOMFORD SAID AT A TEA FOR MISSINEO MONDAY. THE GETTY HAS BUILT A SEISMIC WAVE ISOLATOR FOR APHRODITE THAT WILL PROTECT HER IN THE EARTHQUAKE-PRONE SICILIAN REGION, HE SAID. FOR THE TRIP, THE STATUE WILL BE DISMANTLED AND SHIPPED WITH THE ISOLATOR TO AIDONE, SICILY. 'WE ARE ORGANIZING THE OPENING DAY FOR THE LAST DAYS OF MARCH', MISSINEO SAID. 'WE ARE WORKING ON A PROJECT FOR ANEW SITE FOR THIS STATUE AT THE MUSEUM. THAT SITE WILL BE READY IN A FEW YEARS. THIS IS A VERY GOOD OCCASION NOT JUST FOR AIDONE, BUT SICILY TOO.' MISSINEO ALSO VIEWED THE MARBLE AGRIGENTO YOUTH, A STATUE LOANED TO THE GETTY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN EARTHQUAKE BASE. BOTH SIDES SAY THE DISCORD CAUSED DURING ITALY'S ANTIQUITIES HUNT HAS SPAWNED A NEW ERA OF COOPERATION AND RECIPROCATION BETWEEN THE GETTY AND SICILY. SEVERAL COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS, INCLUDING OBJECT CONSERVATION, EARTHQUAKE PROTECTION OF COLLECTIONS, EXHIBITIONS, SCHOLARLY RESEARCH AND CONFERENCES, ARE PLANNED. THE GETTY HAS ALWAYS DENIED KNOWINGLY BUYING ILLEGALLY OBTAINED OBJECTS, AND THE DEAL THAT FORMER GETTY DIRECTOR MICHAEL BRAND SIGNED WITH ITALY IN 2007 INCLUDES NO ADMISSION OF GUILT. EVEN THE 6 YEAR OLD CASE AGAINST FORMER GETTY ANTIQUITIES CURATOR MARION TRUE WENT AWAY IN OCTOBER WHEN A JUDGE IN ROME RULED THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS IN HER CASE HAD RUN OUT. SHE HAD BEEN ACCUSED OF KNOWINGLY ACQUIRING LOOTED ART FROM ITALY.

THIEVES STEAL VAN CONTAINING 20 ARTWORKS

THREE HOODED THIEVES STOLE A TRUCK CONTAINING 28 PIECES OF ART INCLUDING WORKS BY PICASSO, COLOMBIAN ARTIST FERNANDO BOTERO AND SPANISH SCULPTOR EDUARDO CHILLIDA, SPANISH POLICE SAID RECENTLY. A POLICE STATEMENT SAID THE TRUCK WAS TAKEN FROM A WAREHOUSE NEAR THE TOWN OF GETAFE ON MADRID'S SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS LAST SATURDAY. OFFICERS WENT TO THE WAREHOUSE AFTER AN ALARM SOUNDED AND FOUND THE DOOR OF THE BUILDING HAD BEEN FORCED OPEN. ON ARRIVAL, THE OWNER TOLD POLICE THAT THE TRUCK WAS MISSING. A POLICE OFFICER SAID SECURITY CAMERA RECORDINGS SHOWED THE ROBBERY WAS CARRIED OUT BY THREE HOODED PERSONS AND THAT THE KEYS HAD BEEN LEFT INSIDE THE TRUCK. HE SAID THE TRUCK WAS NOT ARMORED. THE OFFICIAL SPOKE ON THE CONDITION OF ANONYMITY IN LINE WITH DEPARTMENT RULES. POLICE FOUND THE VEHICLE EMPTY IN A NEARBY AREA OF ALCORON, SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPITAL. POLICE PROVIDED NO DETAILS OF THE WORKS OTHER THAN THE ESTIMATE VALUE TO BE AROUND $6.6 MILLION, ADDING THAT SEVERAL OF THE PIECES WERE NOT INSURED. THE WORKS BELONGED TO SIX GALLERIES IN MADRID, BARCELONA AND COLOGNE, GERMANY. THEY HAD JUST COME BACK FROM BEING ON EXHIBIT IN GERMANY. CRISOSTOMO, THE SPANISH TRANSPORT COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VEHICLE, DECLINED TO COMMENT ON THE THEFT. DAVID FERNANDEZ DIRECTOR OF THE JUAN GRIS GALLERY IN MADRID SAID THEY HAD A SCULPTURE AND A COLLAGE BY CHILLIDA STOLEN IN THE THEFT. 'IT GAVE US A BIG FRIGHT BECAUSE NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED TO US', HE TOLD SPANISH NATIONAL RADIO. 'WE'RE UPSET BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPORTANT PIECES AND IRREPLACEABLE.'

US GOVERNMENT TO RETURN STOLEN PAINTING TO FRANCE

AN EDGAR DEGAS PAINTING THAT WAS STOLEN 37 YEARS AGO AND RECENTLY REDISCOVERED BEFORE AN AUCTION IN NEW YORK WILL BE RETURNED TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT, US OFFICIALS SAID RECENTLY. US ATTORNEY LORETTA LYNCH AND JAMES T HAYES JR, HEAD OF THE NEW YORK OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, ANNOUNCED THAT A MANHATTAN SELLER HAD AGREED TO TURN OVER THE PAINTING, 'LAUNDRY WOMAN WITH TOOTHACHE', WITHOUT A FORFEITURE PROCEEDING. SOTHEBY'S HAD GIVEN THE SMALL OIL PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN HOLDING HER JAW AN ESTIMATED VALUE OF $350,000 to $450,000. COURT PAPERS SAID THE SELLER, WHOSE FATHER HAD OBTAINED THE SIGNED PIECES, DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS STOLEN. THE FAMILY HAS THE RIGHT TO FILE A CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION FROM FRENCH AUTHORITIES. THE RETURN OF THE RARE 19th CENTURY WORK 'REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURE THE RETURN OF STOLEN ARTWORK AND CULTURAL PATRIMONY', LYNCH SAID IN A STATEMENT. SOTHEBY'S OFFICIAL DIANA PHILLIPS SAID THE AUCTION HOUSE 'IS HAPPY TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS DISCOVERY AND WE ARE PLEASED THAT THIS PAINTING WILL BE RETURNED TO THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE.' THE SELLER, SHE ADDED, 'WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN ABOUT THIS AND THROUGHOUT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY COOPERATIVE.' AUTHORITIES SAID DEGAS PAINTED 'BLANCHISSEUSES SOUFFRANT DES DENTS' IN THE EARLY 1870s. A COLLECTOR DONATED IT TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AND IT WAS REGISTERED WITH THE LOUVRE MUSEUM. IN 1961, THE LOUVRE LENT THE PAINTING TO THE MALRAUX MUSEUM IN NORMANDY. IN LATE 1973, A STILL UNKNOWN THIEF PULLED IT OFF THE MUSEUM WALL AND SLIPPED AWAY. EARLIER THIS YEAR, SOTHEBY'S FEATURED THE PAINTING IN THE CATALOG FOR A SALE OF IMPRESSIONIST ART. A MALRAUX EMPLOYEE SPOTTED THE LISTING AND NOTIFIED SOTHEBY'S WHICH IMMEDIATELY PULLED IT FROM THE AUCTION. STENCILED ON THE BACK OF THE CANVAS BUT HIDDEN BY THE FRAME WAS 'RF 1953-8', SHORTHAND FOR IT BEING THE EIGHTH WORK OF ART ACQUIRED BY THE FRENCH REPUBLIC IN 1953. PHILLIPS SAID THAT BEFORE THE AUCTION, SOTHEBY'S HAD CHECKED TO SEE IF THE PIECE WAS LISTED ON THE LONDON BASED ART LOSS REGISTER, WHICH TRACKS DOWN STOLEN, LOOTED OR MISSING ART, AND SIMILAR DATABASES. 'UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PAINTING WAS NOT LISTED IN THESE DATABASES SO SOTHEBY'S HAD NO EVIDENCE THAT IS HAD BEEN STOLEN WHEN IT ACCEPTED THE PAINTING FOR SALE', SHE SAID.

VERSACE'S RETURN ZOFFANY PAINTING TO HEIRS

A PAINTING STOLEN FROM A LONDON HOME IN 1979 AND WHICH ENDED UP IN THE COLLECTION OF LATE ITALIAN LUXURY FASHION DESIGNER GIANNI VERSACE HAS BEEN RETURNED TO ITS ORIGINAL OWNERS, BRITAIN'S ART LOSS REGISTER SAID ON MONDAY. THE WORK BY 18th CENTURY GERMAN ARTIST JOHANN ZOFFANY HAD BEEN BILLED AS THE STAR LOT IN SOTHEBY'S AUCTION OF TE CONTENTS OF VERSACE'S LAKE COMO VILLA LAST YEAR, BUT IT WAS WITHDRAWN AS THE LAST MOMENT. A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THE SUBJECT OF 'PORTRAIT OF MAJOR GEORGE MAULE' CONTACTED THE ART LOSS REGISTER, WHICH TRACKS LOST AND STOLEN ART AND ANTIQUITIES, AND THE ALR IN TURN CONTACTED SOTHEBY'S. 'WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A PROTRACTED LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN TWO VERY WELL FINANCED EUROPEAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COPIOUS SETS OF LAWYERS HAS BEEN AMICABLE SETTLED BY THE ARL LOSS REGISTER'S MEDIATION TEAM', A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ALR SAID IN A STATEMENT. ALTHOUGH THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO FAMILIES REMAINED CONFIDENTIAL, THE ALR's CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO SAID: 'THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT GIANNI VERSACE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS PORTRAIT WAS STOLEN WHEN HE PURCHASED IT IN THE 1980s. THIS PORTRAIT DOES...HOLD PARTICULAR SENTIMENTAL VALUE TO THE ... HEIRS AND THE VERSACE FAMILY WERE EXTREMELY GRACIOUS IN THEIR WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE IN SEEING ITS RETURN.'

TWO STOLEN ARTWORKS RETURNED TO ITALY

TWO ANCIENT STATUES STOLEN IN THE 1980s FROM ITALIAN MUSEUMS ARE NOW BACK HOME, THANKS IN PART TO A POLICE ART SQUAD EXPERT WHO SPOTTED ONE OF THEM IN A NEW YORK GALLERY WHILE WINDOW SHOPPING ON VACATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THE BRONZE STATUE OF THE GREEK GOD ZEUS AND A MARBLE FEMALE TORSO, BOTH DATING FROM THE 1st CENTURY, HAD ENDED UP IN THE HANDS OF A DEALER AND A COLLECTOR IN NEW YORK, OFFICIALS TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE FRIDAY IN ROME. THE TORSO, FROM A SMALL MUSEUM IN TERRACINA, SOUTH OF ROME, WAS ON DISPLAY IN A MADISON AVENUE ART GALLERY WHEN MICHELLE SPERANZA, A MEMBER OF THE ITALIAN CARABINIERI ART SQUAD THAT HUNTS DOWN STOLEN ARTIFACTS, STROLLED BY WHEN ON HOLIDAY LAST YEAR. THE BRONZE AND THE TORSO ARE EACH VALUED AT $680,000, AUTHORITIES SAID. THE ZEUS WAS STOLEN FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ROME NEAR THE CAPITAL'S MAIN TRAIN STATION IN 1980, AND WAS TRACKED TO A NEW YORK COLLECTOR AFTER A PHOTO OF IT APPEARED IN A SOTHEBY'S AUCTION CATALOG IN 2006. THE ART SQUAD METHODICALLY STUDIES CATALOGS OF MAJOR AUCTION HOUSES. NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN EITHER THEFT. AUTHORITIES SAID THOSE WHO OWNED THE STATUES WERE UNAWARE OF THEIR ILLEGAL PROVENANCE.

NEWLY DISCOVERED ART TO BE DISPLAYED IN BERLIN

NEARLY A DOZEN SCULPTURES CONSIDERED BY THE NAZIS TO BE 'DEGENERATE' ARTWORK AND BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED AFTER WORLD WAR II HAVE BEEN UNEARTHED DURING CONSTRUCTION NEAR BERLIN'S CITY HALL AND WERE SHOWN TO REPORTERS MONDAY. THE TERRA-COTTA AND BRONZE STATUES WERE FOUND DURING A DIG TO LAY A NEW SUBWAY LINE. THEY BELONGED TO A COLLECTION OF 15,000 WORKS CONDEMNED BY HITLER'S REGIME FOR CONTAINING 'DEVIANT' SEXUAL ELEMENTS, ANTI-NATIONALISTIC THEMES OR CRITICIZING NAZI IDEOLOGY. THE SCULPTURES MAINLY DEPICT WOMEN, A WOMAN HOLDING GRAPES, A MOTHER AND HER CHILD, A FULL-FIGURED WOMAN STRETCHING, THE OTHER THREE ARE OF MALES. TEN OF TE PIECES WILL GO ON DISPLAY IN BERLIN'S NEUSS MUSEUM. ONE, A MALE TERRA-COTTA HEAD, IS TOO FRAGILE TO DISPLAY. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FOUND THE ART ON THE SITE OF AN OFFICE BUILDING THAT BURNED DOWN IN THE SUMMER OF 1944. MUSEUM DIRECTOR MATTHAIS WEMHOFF TOLD REPORTERS MONDAY. THE FIRE STARTED IN THE ROOF, BURNING THE BUILDING FROM THE TOP DOWN. 'EACH FLOOR FELL ONTO THE NEXT AND EVERYTHING THAT COULDN'T BE BURNT COLLECTED AT THE BOTTOM IN THE BASEMENT', INCLUDING THE SCULPTURES, HE SAID. JUDGING FROM THE PLACEMENT AND DAMAGE OF THE WORKS, THEY HAD BEEN STORED IN AN OFFICE BEFORE THE FIRE, WEMHOFF SAID. ONE OF THE PIECES, AN EDWIN SCHARFF STATUE OF THE ACTRESS ANNI MEWES, WAS FOUND IN JANUARY BUT THOUGHT TO BE UNIQUE. SUBSEQUENT DIGS IN AUGUST AND OCTOBER, HOWEVER, TURNED UP THE REMAINING PIECES. WHILE NAZI'S OFTEN ATTRIBUTED THE 'DEVIANT' CHARACTERISTICS OF DEGENERATES ART TO JEWISH CORRUPTION, ONLY TWO JEWS WERE AMONG THE AVANT-GARDE ARTISTS WHO CREATED THE SCULPTURES ON DISPLAY. OTTO FREUNDLICH, WHOSE LARGE, ELONGATED 1925 TERRA-COTTA STATUE OF A MAN'S HEAD WAS LEFT PARTIALLY STANDING, WAS MURDERED IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMP LUBLIN-MAIDANEK IN 1943. NAUM SLUTZKY, A MEMBER OF THE BAUHAUS SCHOOL, FLED TO ENGLAND IN 1933, WHERE HE TAUGHT ART AND LIVED UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1965. HIS WORK 'FEMALE BUST' WAS ORIGINALLY A GLINTING BRONZE, BUT HAS BEEN LEFT ONLY PARTIALLY RESTORED TO REFLECT THE DAMAGE OF TIME AND FIRE. BERLIN'S MAYOR KLAUS WOWEREIT, SAID THAT FINDING THE SCULPTURES IS A 'SMALL MIRACLE' FOR THE GERMAN CAPITAL THAT 'SHOWS A LOT ABOUT THE DARK TIMES OF THE CITY'.

RARE BONHAMS TO SELL SILVER FROM FABLED EGGER'S COLLECTION

A 17th CENTURY GERMAN SILVER-GILT TABLE DECORATION IN THE FORM OF A SHIP, ESTIMATED AT £20,000-25,000, WITH A TRAGIC AND POIGNANT HISTORY APPEARS AT AUCTION IN BONHAMS SILVER SALE IN LONDON ON 3.NOVEMBER. IT IS BEING SOLD BY THE VIENNESE BORN HUNGARIAN ARISTOCRAT, COUNT FERDINAND ORSSICH DE SLACETICH, AND IS ONLY ONE OF TWO KNOWN SURVIVING PIECES FROM THE FABULOUS EGGER SILVER COLLECTION CONFISCATED BY THE GESTAPO IN VIENNA IN 1944 AND SOLD ANONYMOUSLY BY THE NAZIS AT AUCTION IN DECEMBER OF THAT YEAR. THE SPECTACULAR 150 PIECE COLLECTION HAD BEEN AMASSED BY A JEWISH COUPLE, FANNY AND ERNST EGGER, WHO WERE ARRESTED IN 1944 AND SENT WITH THE REST OF THEIR FAMILY TO A CONCENTRATION CAMP WHERE THEY DIED SOMETIME BEFORE THE END OF THE WAR. FERDINAND ORSSICH WAS FANNY AND ERNST'S STEP GRANDSON, HIS FATHER, WHO WAS NOT JEWISH, HAD MARRIED THE EGGER'S DAUGHTER. HE ACQUIRED THE SHIP WHEN A FRIEND OF THE EGGERS BOUGHT IT, UNWITTINGLY, AT THE '44 DECEMBER AUCTION, AND RETURNED IT ONCE HE REALIZED WHERE IT HAD COME FROM. TECHNICALLY KNOWN AS A NEF, THE SHIP WAS MADE BY JERONYMOUS GILG IN AUGSBURG IN THE 1620s. ELABORATELY AND BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED, IT FEATURES SIX FIGURES, FOUR FIRING RIFLES, AT THE REAR AND TWO FURTHER FIGURES IN THE RIGGING AND IS RAISED ON FOUR WHEELS SO IT CAN BE ROLLED ALONG THE TABLE. NEFS, WHICH DATE FROM THE 13th CENTURY, ORIGINALLY HAD A PRACTICAL PURPOSE TO HOLD SALT AND PEPPER, NAPKINS OR CUTLERY. THE LATER BECAME PURELY ORNAMENTAL AND WERE PLACED IN FRONT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON AT THE TABLE AS A STATUS SYMBOL. THE ONLY OTHER PIECE FROM THE EGGER COLLECTION EVER TO HAVE RESURFACED WAS A SILVER CUP FOUND IN A VIENNESE MUSEUM BY AN AUSTRIAN COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING ART WORKS IN PUBLIC HANDS STOLEN DURING WORLD WAR II. IT WAS RETURNED TO THE FAMILY BUT ALL THE OTHER PIECES ARE PRESUMED TO BE IN PRIVATE HANDS. A SURVIVING CATALOG FROM THE 1944 AUCTION GIVES SOME IDEA OF THE IMPORTANCE AND GREAT VALUE OF THE COLLECTION.

DAMAGED ARTWORK WILL NOT BE RE-DISPLAYED

A PIECE OF ARTWORK DENOUNCED AS OBSCENE BY CHURCH MEMBERS AND ALLEGEDLY RIPPED UP BY A MONTANA WOMAN USING A CROWBAR WON'T BE RETURNED TO DISPLAY BECAUSE OF SAFETY CONCERNS, CITY OFFICIALS SAID THURSDAY. 'THE INCIDENT YESTERDAY WAS VERY TROUBLING AND ALSO VERY IMPACTFUL ON THE CITY STAFF, VOLUNTEER AND THE PUBLIC AT THE VENUE', SAID ROD WENSING, ACTING CITY MANAGER. KATHLEEN FOLDEN OF KALISPELL, MONT, WAS ARRESTED WEDNESDAY ON A CHARGE OF CRIMINAL MISCHIEF. WITNESSES TOLD POLICE THAT SHE USED A CROWBAR TO SMASH GLASS SHIELDING THE PRINT AT THE LOVELAND MUSEUM GALLERY AND THEN TORE PART OF IT UP. FOLDEN A TRUCK DRIVER, TOLD POLICE THAT SHE DROVE FROM MONTANA AND BOUGHT A CROWBAR IN LOVELAND BEFORE GOING TO THE MUSEUM TO DESTROY THE ARTWORK, ACCORDING TO AN ARREST AFFIDAVIT OBTAINED BY THE COLORADOAN IN FORT COLLINS. POLICE SAID THE DAMAGED PART INCLUDES WHAT CRITICS SAY WAS A DEPICTION OF JESUS CHRIST ENGAGED IN A SEX ACT. MUSEUM VISITOR MARK MICHAELS TOLD THE LOVELAND REPORTER-HERALD THAT FOLDEN SCREAMED 'HOW CAN YOU DESECRATE MY LORD?' DURING THE INCIDENT. THE ARTIST, STANFORD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR ENRIQUE CHAGOYA, TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON THURSDAY THAT THE WORK HAS BEEN MISCHARACTERIZED. HE SAID WHILE THE PART IN QUESTION IS SUGGESTIVE, IT'S NOT GRAPHIC. THE PANEL INCLUDES FIGURES CUT OUT FROM A COMIC BOOK, A HEAD RESEMBLING CHRIST AND A SKELETON WITH A POPE'S HAT. 'THIS IS NOT CHRIST. IT'S A COLLAGE', CHAGOYA SAID. 'WHAT I'M TRYING TO EXPRESS IS THE CORRUPTION OF THE SPIRITUAL BY THE CHURCH.' THE PRINT WAS TAKEN BY POLICE AS EVIDENCE. FOLDEN WAS RELEASES ON A $350 CASH BOND DURING A COURT APPEARANCE THURSDAY. ANOTHER HEARING IS SET FOR 15.OCTOBER. THE WORK THAT WAS DAMAGED, 'THE MISADVENTURES OF THE ROMANTIC CANNIBALS', IS A 12 PANEL LITHOGRAPH THAT INCLUDES COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS, MEXICAN PORNOGRAPHY, MAYAN SYMBOLS AND ETHNIC STEREOTYPES. IT IS PART OF AN 82 PRINT EXHIBITION BY 10 ARTISTS THAT HAVE WORKED WITH COLORADO PRINTER BUD SHARK THAT OPENED IN MID-SEPTEMBER. MEMBERS OF A LOCAL CHURCH HAVE BEEN AMONG THOSE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING OUTSIDE THE CITY-OWNED MUSEUM FOR MOST OF THE WEEK. A CITY COUNCILMAN AND SOME RESIDENTS HAD DEMANDED THAT CHAGOYA'S WORK BE REMOVED, BUT THE COUNCIL DECIDED TUESDAY TO LEAVE IT ON DISPLAY. SOME OF THE OUTSPOKEN CRITICS HAVE CONDEMNED THE ATTACK ON THE ARTWORK. THE MUSEUM HAS SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN VISITORS SINCE THE CONTROVERSY STARTED, SAID A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MUSEUM. VISITORS INCLUDED SUPPORTERS AND OPPONENTS OF THE PIECE. 'IN MY OPINION, IT'S RATHER SAD TAKING AWAY PEOPLE'S FREEDOM TO SEE ART', THE SPOKESMAN ADDED. CHAGOYA SAID HE WAS SAD AND DISAPPOINTED THAT THE WORK, ONE OF 30 LIMITED PRINTS, WON'T BE ON DISPLAY AGAIN IN LOVELAND. 'IT WILL BE A LOSS FOR EVERYBODY, NOT JUST FOR ME, BUT FOR EVERYBODY THAT BELIEVES IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT', CHAGOYA SAID. 'SUPPRESSION OF ART AND IDEAS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IN TOTALITARIAN REGIMES, NOT THIS COUNTRY', HE ADDED.

LOOTED ARTIFACTS RETURNED TO IRAQI MUSEUM

HUNDREDS OF IRAQI ARTIFACTS LOOTED FROM MUSEUMS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING A 4,400 YEAR OLD STATUE OF AN ANCIENT KING STOLEN DURING THE US LED INVASION, HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO IRAQ AND WERE DISPLAYED TUESDAY. IRAQ IS HOME TO RELICS OF THE WORLD'S MOST ANCIENT URBAN CIVILIZATIONS. BUT ITS PRICELESS HERITAGE HAS BEEN PLUNDERED DURING THE COUNTRY'S WARS AND UPHEAVALS, AND ITS PRECIOUS ANTIQUITIES SOLD TO COLLECTORS WORLDWIDE. THE US MILITARY WAS HEAVILY CRITICIZED FOR NOT PROTECTING THE IRAQI NATIONAL MUSEUM'S TROVE OF RELICS AND ART FOLLOWING BAGHDAD'S FALL IN 2003. THIEVES RANSACKED THE COLLECTION, STEALING OR DESTROYING PRICELESS ARTIFACTS THAT CHRONICLED SOME 7,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION IN MESOPOTAMIA, INCLUDING THE ANCIENT BABYLONIANS, SUMERIANS, AND ASSYRIANS. IRAQI AND WORLD CULTURE OFFICIALS HAVE FOR YEARS STRUGGLED TO RETRIEVE THE TREASURES BUT MET LITTLE SUCCESS. ABOUT 15,000 PIECES ARE STILL MISSING FROM THE MUSEUM THAT REOPENED LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM. MORE THAN 5,000 PIECES HAVE BEEN RETURNED SINCE 2003, HE SAID. TUESDAY'S DISPLAY AT THE FOREIGN MINISTRY OF MORE THAN 542 PIECES RETURNED WAS AIMED AT SHOWCASING IRAQI AND INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO REPATRIATE THE COUNTRY'S LOOTED CULTURAL HERITAGE. THE DISPLAY WAS HAILED AS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT BY IRAQI GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO VOWED TO CONTINUE THE BATTLE TO RECLAIM IRAQI ARTIFACTS.

ELEVEN CULTURE OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH VAN GOGH THEFT

ELEVEN CULTURE OFFICIALS FROM EGYPT'S GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN FORMALLY CHARGED IN LAST MONTH'S THEFT OF A VINCENT VAN GOGH PAINTING FROM A CAIRO MUSEUM THAT HAD NO FUNCTIONING SECURITY ALARMS. THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SAYS HE HAS REFERRED THE ELEVEN CULTURE MINISTRY OFFICIALS TO TRIAL ON CHARGES OF NEGLIGENCE AND HARMING STATE PROPERTY. AMONG THEM IS A DEPUTY MINSTER WHO SAYS HE APPEALED TO HIS BOSS FOR FUNDS TO MAKE SECURITY UPGRADES BEFORE THE 21.AUGUST THEFT BUT RECEIVED LITTLE ASSISTANCE. THE $50 MILLION PAINTING, TITLED 'POPPY FLOWER', WAS STOLEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY FROM THE MAHMOUD KHALIL MUSEUM, WHERE INVESTIGATORS FOUND THAT NO ALARMS AND ONLY SEVEN OF 43 SECURITY CAMERAS WERE WORKING. IF CONVICTED THE SUSPECTS COULD FACE THREE YEARS IN PRISON.

ART COURIER SUED AFTER LOSING $1.3 MILLION PAINTING

A NEW YORK ART COURIER IS BEING SUED AFTER HE LOST A $1.3 MILLION PAINTING FOLLOWING A DRUNKEN NIGHT OUT. JAMES HAGGERTY TOOK THE JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT MASTERPIECE, 'PORTRAIT OF A GIRL', TO A MANHATTAN HOTEL ON 28.JULY SO THAT A POTENTIAL BUYER FROM LONDON COULD EXAMINE IT. BUT AFTER THE DEAL FELL THROUGH, HAGGERTY HIT THE BAR AT THE MARK HOTEL ON NEW YORK'S UPPER EAST SIDE. HE WAS LATER CAPTURED ON CCTV LEAVING THE HOTEL WITH THE PAINTING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF 29.JULY. BUT THERE WAS NO SIGN OF THE PORTRAIT ON CAMERAS AT HIS MANHATTAN APARTMENT BUILDING WHEN HE GOT HOME NEARLY TWO HOURS LATER. AND THE NEXT MORNING, HAGGERTY TOLD THE PAINTING'S CO-OWNER THOMAS DOYLE HE COULD NOT RECALL THE WHEREABOUTS BECAUSE HE'D HAD TO MUCH TO DRINK. BUT DOYLE'S FELLOW OWNER KRISTYN TRUDGEON DOESN'T BELIEVE HIM AND NOW SHE HAS DECIDED TO SUE. 'I THINK HE'S A COMPLETE FUMBLING IDIOT', SHE TOLD THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. TRUDGEON IS SEEKING WHAT SHE SAYS IS ROUGHLY £840,000 VALUE OF THE PAINTING, WHICH SPENT YEARS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE HAMMER MUSEUM ON LOS ANGELES, ACCORDING TO A MUSEUM SPOKESMAN. THE OWNERS HAD HIRED HAGGERTY TO HELP WITH THE SALE OF THE PAINTING TO LONDON GALLERY OWNER OFFER WATERMAN. AN INITIAL APPOINTMENT ON 28.JULY FELL THROUGH, SO HAGGERTY TOOK THE PAINTING TO THE MARK, WHERE WATERMAN WAS STAYING SO HE COULD HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT IT. ACCORDING TO PAPERS FILED AT MANHATTAN STATE COURT, HAGGERTY AND WATERMAN WENT TO THE CAR THEN RETURNED TO THE LOBBY. THEY RETRIEVED THE PAINTING FROM THE HOTEL'S FRONT DESK AND AFTER,A SHORT CONVERSATION, WATERMAN LEFT. THE GALLERY OWNER TOLD THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: 'SOMETHING JUST DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT AND I DIDN'T WANT TO BE INVOLVED. SO I SAID NO, AND I SAD GOODBYE.' HAGGERTY RETURNED TO THE BAR AND ONCE MORE DEPOSITED THE PAINTING AT THE FRONT DESK. HE RESURFACED 90 MINUTES LATER, WHEN HE STUMBLED OUT WITH THE PAINTING AND A DOORMAN ASKED IF HE NEEDED A TAXI. 'NO', HAGGERTY ALLEGEDLY SLURRED, 'I HAVE A CAR.' TWO HOURS LATER, THE PAINTING HAD DISAPPEARED.

SEARCH FOR STOLEN VAN GOGH CONTINUES

NONE OF THE ALARMS AND ONLY SEVEN OUT OF 43 SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WERE WORKING AT A CAIRO MUSEUM WHERE A VINCENT VAN GOGH PAINTING WAS STOLEN, FOR THE SECOND TIME, EGYPT'S TOP PROSECUTOR SAID SUNDAY. THIEVES MADE OFF WITH THE CANVAS, KNOW BY THE TITLES OF 'POPPY FLOWERS' AND 'VASE WITH FLOWERS', ON SATURDAY FROM THE MAHMOUD KHALIL MUSEUM IN THE EGYPTIAN CAPITAL. PROSECUTOR GENERAL ABDEL-MEGUID MAHMOUD TOLD EGYPT'S STATE NEWS AGENCY SUNDAY THAT THE THIEVES USED A BOX CUTTER TO REMOVE THE PAINTING FROM ITS FRAME. HE BLAMED THE THEFT ON THE MUSEUM'S LAX SECURITY MEASURES, CALLING THEM 'FOR THE MOST PART FEEBLE AND SUPERFICIAL'. HE SAID THE MUSEUM GUARDS' DAILY ROUNDS AT CLOSING TIME WERE INADEQUATE AND DID NOT MEET MINIMUM SECURITY REQUIREMENTS TO PROTECT INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED WORKS OF ART. MAHMOUD ALSO SAID HIS OFFICE HAD WARNED EGYPT'S MUSEUMS TO IMPLEMENT STRICTER SECURITY CONTROLS AFTER NINE PAINTINGS WERE STOLEN LAST YEAR FROM ANOTHER CAIRO INSTITUTE, THE MOHAMMED ALI MUSEUM. SIMILAR SECURITY LAPSES WERE TO BLAME IN THAT THEFT. FIFTEEN EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS, INCLUDING THE DIRECTOR OF THE KHALIL MUSEUM AND THE HEAD OF THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT AT THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE, HAVE BEEN BARRED FROM LEAVING EGYPT UNTIL THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE PAINTING'S THEFT IS COMPLETE, MAHMOUD SAID. HE DID NOT ELABORATE AS TO WHY SUCH A DRASTIC MEASURE WAS UNDERTAKEN. ON SATURDAY, EGYPT'S MINISTER OF CULTURE SAID THAT POLICE HAD CONFISCATED THE PAINTING FROM AN ITALIAN COUPLE AT CAIRO AIRPORT HOURS AFTER IT WAS STOLEN. BUT LATER BACKTRACKED, SAYING HIS ANNOUNCEMENT WAS BASED ON 'FALSE AND INCORRECT' INFORMATION. HE SAID AUTHORITIES WERE STILL SEARCHING FOR THE MISSING PAINTING, WHICH HE SAID IS WORTH AN ESTIMATED $50 MILLION. IT WAS NOT CLEAR WHAT CAUSED THE CONFUSION OVER THE ARTWORK'S FATE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE PAINTING BY THE DUTCH-BORN POST-IMPRESSIONIST HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM THE KHALIL MUSEUM. THIEVES FIRST MADE OFF WITH THE CANVAS IN 1978, BEFORE AUTHORITIES RECOVERED IT TWO YEARS LATER AT AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN KUWAIT. OFFICIALS HAVE NEVER FULLY REVEALED THE DETAILS OF THAT THEFT.

HISTORIC GOLD BAR STOLEN FROM FLORIDA MUSEUM

THIEVES STOLE A $550,000 GOLD BAR FROM A TREASURE MUSEUM WHERE IT WENT ON DISPLAY AFTER A FLORIDA SAVAGER RECOVERED IT FROM THE WRECK OF A SPANISH GALLEON THAT LAY ON THE OCEAN FLOOR FOR CENTURIES, THE MUSEUM'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAID. THE 74.85 OUNCE GOLD BAR WAS STOLEN ON WEDNESDAY FROM THE MEL FISHER MARITIME MUSEUM IN KEY WEST, FLORIDA, IN WHAT A SPOKESMAN FOR THE MUSEUM CALLED 'A VERY QUIET SMASH AND GRAB'. THE 11 INCH GOLD BAR WAS INSIDE A GLASS CASE WITH A SMALL OPENING WHERE VISITORS COULD STICK A HAND INSIDE AND LIFT THE BAR TO EXAMINE IT. FOOTAGE FROM THE MUSEUM'S SECURITY CAMERA SHOWED TWO CULPRITS WHO MADE OFF WITH IT, AND THE FBI AND LOCAL POLICE WERE INVESTIGATING. THE MUSEUM'S INSURER OFFERED A $10,000 REWARD FOR ITS SAFE RETURN, THE MUSEUM SPOKESMAN ADDED. GOLD HAS HOVERED NEAR HISTORIC HIGHS AFTER HITTING A RECORD HIGH $1,266.50 AN OUNCE IN JUNE, BUT THE STOLEN BAR'S VALUATION REFLECTS HISTORIC VALUE FAR BEYOND ITS MELT-DOWN WORTH. MEL FISHER, A KEY WEST TREASURE HUNTER WHO DIED IN 1998, RECOVERED THE BAR IN 1980 FROM THE WRECK OF THE SANTA MARGARITA, A SPANISH GALLEON THAT SANK OFF THE FLORIDA KEYS DURING A HURRICANE IN 1622. THE GOLD BAR HAS SEVERAL DISTINCTIVE MARKINGS, INCLUDING ROMAN NUMERALS SIGNIFYING IT WAS 16 CARAT GOLD, A SYMBOL IDENTIFYING ITS OWNER, AND A SERIES OF DOTS INDICATING WHAT TAXES THE OWNER HAD PAID TO THE SPANISH CROWN. THE THEFT WAS THE TALK OF KEY WEST, AN ISLAND TOWN OF 25,000 PEOPLE AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE FLORIDA KEYS.