1. The Mona Lisa Theft

The Mona Lisa stolen | Photo credit: Art Observed

It was 1911 when Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at the Lourve (Paris), took off with what is possibly Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous work, the Mona Lisa. After stealing it off the wall of the museum, Peruggia hid the painting in his Paris apartment till it was finally discovered two years later. Peruggia, who is Italian, claims he did not steal the painting for his monetary value, but rather wanted to return the painting to its birthplace, Italy. Today, the Mona Lisa, which also faced vandalism in 1956, is highly protected by a bullet-proof glass and security guards who stand by the painting to keep sentry.

Source: Neatorama

2. “The Biggest Art Fraud of the 20th Century”

John Myatt | Photo credit: John Myatt

Referred to as “The biggest art fraud of the 20th century”, John Myatt was a genius in art forgery and produced some 200 forgeries of works from great art masters such as Braque, Matisse, Giacometti, Le Corbusier. Over nine years (1986 – 1995), Myatt had his works auctioned off at international auction houses including Christie’s and Sotheby’s. In order to pass off Myatt’s work as authentic, John Drewe, who had commissioned Myatt to create the works, gained access to many art archives, adding collections and even go so far as to altering origins of paintings, literally changing history. Drewe and Myatt were eventually arrested. Today, Myatt has made a mark for himself as an artist, leveraging on the term “The biggest art fraud of the 20th century” to market himself. He also recently appeared on a TV series called “Virgin Virtuosos”, a show that teaches viewers how to paint.

Source: NYtimes, Telegraph

3. Van Gogh piece stolen and sold for $250

The Night Café | Photo Credit: Shafe

One of the most recent art thefts involves an 1888 Van Gogh Sketch of his famous painting, “The Night Café”. The thief had made off with the drawing, valued at over a million dollars, after a stealing spree at a private house. Not realizing the art piece’s worth, he sold the painting off to a consignment shop for a mere $250. At point of writing, the suspect, Edward Laird, has not been convicted of the charge.

Source: krqe

4. The auction house scandal

An auctioneer in action at Sotheby’s | Photo Credit: Source: Accesible Art NY

Two major auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s got into trouble some 10 years ago when they were found to be colluding to fix prices of works and commission rates. While it is not illegal to change commission rates after a competitor has changed, it is illegal to fix the prices. The two auction houses, which controlled about 95% of the auction market, were eventually imposed a fine.

Source: TIME

5. Zurich Museum Theft

The room at the Zurich museum in which the four famous paintings were stolen from | Photo Credit: NYtimes

In 2008, four 19th-century Impressionist art pieces, worth some US$163 million were stolen from the Buehrle Foundation museum in Switzerland. The three men, wearing ski masks and armed with guns, entered the museum in broad daylight and took off with the masterpieces – works of Cezanne, Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh. Two of the pieces were recovered about 8 days later.

Source: NYtimes