Johannes Vermeer
Artwork: The Concert, between 1664 and 1667.
Crime scene: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, 1990.
Police report: Two police impersonators took $300 million worth of paintings—including this Vermeer—plus one other crucial prize: the surveillance video.
Current value: At least $100 million, up from $70 million when stolen.
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Vincent van Gogh
Artwork: Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, 1882.
Crime scene: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2002 (stolen with the painting on the next slide).
Police report: Two crooks were collared in 2003, but the works weren't found. Due to a quirk of Dutch law, the thieves can claim ownership if the paintings aren't recovered within 20 years.
Current value: At least $10 million, up from $3 million when stolen.
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Vincent van Gogh
Artwork: View of the Sea at Scheveningen, 1884.
Crime scene: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2002 (stolen with the painting in the previous slide).
Police report: Two crooks were collared in 2003, but the works weren't found. Due to a quirk of Dutch law, the thieves can claim ownership if the paintings aren't recovered within 20 years.
Current value: At least $10 million, up from $3 million when stolen.
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Lucian Freud
Artwork: Portrait of Francis Bacon, 1952.
Crime scene: Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1988.
Police report: In 2001, Freud offered a $138,000 reward on 2,500 "wanted" posters. (Many of the posters were also then stolen.)
Current value: At least $7 million, up from $134,000 when stolen.
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Caravaggio
Artwork: The Adoration of the Shepherds With Saints Lawrence and Francis, 1609.
Crime scene: Oratorio di San Lorenzo, Palermo, Italy, 1969.
Police report: Thieves cut the 6-by-8-foot canvas from its frame, which hung above the altar of a Franciscan church.
Current value: At least $80 million, up from $20 million when stolen.
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Anonymous
Artwork: Lioness Attacking a Nubian, 720 B.C.
Crime scene: National Museum, Baghdad, 2003.
Police report: Some 14,000 objects were looted in April 2003, just after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This ivory plaque remains missing. "There is no finer or more important ivory from Mesopotamia," says Hicham Aboutaam, co-founder of Phoenix Ancient Art.
Current value: Priceless.
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