Throughout history, people have attempted and succeeded in stealing priceless coins and valuable artifacts from museums.
Some of the more audacious heists include the theft of the Mona Lisa by a workman who simply lifted it off the wall, in addition to the robbers of an Edvard Munch leaving a note that read, “Thank you for the poor security”.
More recently, it was revealed that a worker who was a ‘world expert’ had been sacked by the British Museum after artefacts were ‘missing, stolen or damaged’.
Peter John Higgins, 56, had worked at the museum for 30 years before being charged with theft.
Going back to 1911, when he was working at the Louvre in Paris, Vincenzo Peruggia approached the painting, removed it from the wall, extracted it from its case and brought the Mona Lisa home.
Vincenzo Peruggia who worked at the Louvre, Paris approached the painting, removed it from the wall, extracted it from its case and brought the Mona Lisa home
Francisco Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington was stolen from the National Gallery in London by Kempton Bunton
Despite its simplicity, 112 years later it’s still one of the best-known art heists in history.
Peruggia hid the painting in a trunk for two years before he was caught trying to sell it to a gallery in Florence – he said he wanted to return it to his homeland.
The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre, but in the meantime the police had accused several people of theft, including Pablo Picasso.
Fifty years later, on the same date as the Mona Lisa was stolen, Francisco Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington was stolen from the National Gallery in London by Kempton Bunton.
The Duke, released in 2020 with Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, depicts the heist which saw Kempton steal the painting to raise £140,000 for a cause close to his heart – ensuring the elderly and poor can get free television licenses.
Four years after Bunton climbed out of a bathroom window – which he had previously left ajar – he showed up at a police station and confessed to the theft.
Bunton’s solicitor, Jeremy Hutchinson QC, managed to persuade the jury that his client had borrowed the painting and was only found guilty of stealing the frame.
In 1994, two men used a ladder to break into the National Gallery in Oslo and take Edvard Munch’s painting Scream. They then left a note that read, “Thank you for the poor security.”
The British Museum worker sacked over missing priceless treasures was today Peter John Higgs, 56,
The Duke, released in 2020 starring Jim Broadbent (left) and Helen Mirren (right), depicts the heist which saw Kempton steal the painting to raise £140,000 for a cause close to his heart – ensuring that the old people and the poor can obtain free television licenses
Two men used a ladder to break into the National Gallery in Oslo and take Edvard Munch’s painting Scream – of which there are four versions. (File image)
The museum refused to pay a $1 million ransom, but the painting was later recovered.
A decade later, a different version of Munch’s Scream – there were four artist-created versions in total – was stolen from the same gallery by masked gunmen in broad daylight.
Several of the thieves were convicted but it was not until two years later that the police managed to recover the painting.
Dubbed the biggest art theft in modern history, five men have been found guilty of orchestrating and carrying out the theft of 18th century jewelery worth £100million from a Dresden museum in 2019 .
The Dresden State Court ruled that the five men, aged 24 to 29, were responsible for the break-in at the East German city’s Green Vault Museum on November 25, 2019 and the theft of 21 jewels containing over 4,300 diamonds with a total insured value of at least €113.8m (£99m).
The theft included 21 jewels containing more than 4,300 diamonds with a total insured value of at least €113.8m (£99m).
The Dresden State Court ruled that the five men, aged 24 to 29, were responsible for the break-in at the Green Vault Museum in the eastern German city on November 25, 2019.
Many pieces were badly damaged and some are still missing, including a brooch that belonged to Queen Amalie Auguste of Saxony.
Around 40 people are believed to have been involved in the planning of the robbery and are still wanted.
Moreover, the five men cannot be compelled to testify about the location of the treasures, even if they have been convicted.
In March 2020, three historic paintings dating back to the 16th century and valued at millions of pounds disappeared from an art gallery after an overnight robbery.
The alarm was raised when thieves broke into the famous Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford at 11pm.
Dubbed the biggest art theft in modern history, five men have been found guilty of orchestrating and carrying out the theft of 18th century jewelery worth £100million from a Dresden museum in 2019
Described as “one of the most serious art thefts of all time” by an art expert, in 2015 bandits dressed in black entered the 14th century fortress at closing time and took away paintings, including masterpieces by Tintoretto, Rubens and Bellini.
The men escaped from the Castelvecchio museum in the security guard’s car before changing vehicles.
The bandits bound and gagged the site’s security guard and a cashier with one of the men guarding the hostages while the other two looted the showrooms.
At the time, Roberto Bolis, spokesman for the Verona council, said the museum was guarded 24 hours a day, but the theft was planned for the thieves to arrive after the building emptied but before alarms have been activated.
