Home

"Thieves, sirs, you are imbeciles."

 Print E-mail
Written by April Yorke   
Thursday, 20 May 2010 09:50

While most stolen art news touches on Nazi purloined oeuvres, the news broke that a thief or thieves stole five paintings early this morning from the Paris Museum of Modern Art. The security system was disabled, and only one masked figure was caught on camera, which suggests a certain level of professionalism. The best part of the story, however, is the reaction of Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr, director of a neighbouring modern art museum, Palais de Tokyo:

“You cannot do anything with these paintings. All countries in the world are aware, and no collector is stupid enough to buy a painting that, one, he can't show to other collectors, and two, risks sending him to prison. In general, you find these paintings. These five paintings are un-sellable, so thieves, sirs, you are imbeciles, now return them.”

Ha! Love his attitude. And not five minutes after I learned that most museums acquire 90% of their art from donors. Hope this makes M de Saint-Cyr some friends! Also, I hope the thief just keeps the works for himself like that guy who stole the Mona Lisa.

View a slideshow of the works stolen.

Comments (0)Add Comment
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
Write comment
 
 
smaller | bigger
 

security image
Write the displayed characters

busy
Last Updated on Friday, 04 June 2010 02:05
 

April Yorke is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

Other articles by this writer

© 2009 - 2013 Culture Magazine. Design by Web Design Ottawa