Art Gallery of Alberta's Grand Opening

Top ART News Headlines for Friday, January 29, 2010

The Art Gallery of Alberta will open to the public on January 30, 2010. [Credit: ©Richard Lemermeyer]

The Art Gallery of Alberta's Grand Opening | EDMONTON — After ten years of planning, three years of construction and $88 million, Canada's 85,000-square-foot Art Gallery of Alberta will open to the public on January 30, 2010. The original building, known as the Edmonton Art Gallery, was designed by Don Bittorf in 1969; the new structure is the design of LA-based architect Randall Stout. "Environmental sustainability" was a major factor in the construction of the building, which also features a gift shop, restaurant and 150-seat theater. Ten thousand tickets were given away to the public for free admission on opening weekend. [Source: Canadian Architect]

Missing — The original House and Hills (1959) painting by Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson. [Credit: Barrie Art Club]

Painting Switcheroo Victims Want Their Original Back | ONTARIO — The Barrie Art Club is in a state of panic after discovering their prized House and Hills oil painting was stolen. When the Canadian Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson visited the Art Club in 1959, he not only conducted a painting workshop but created and gifted an original 9x12-inch work to the group. On Wednesday, police confirmed suspicions that the original in storage was switched out with a giclée (high-quality print) copy that had been made for display purposes. Authorities and group members are appealing to the public for help in locating their stolen treasure. [Source: The Barrie Examiner]

Exhibit Turns Modern Art Into Literal Rubbish | LONDON — British artist Michael Landy is curating a new exhibit by contacting his peers and asking them to donate art for his show. But the pieces won't hang on the walls at the South London Gallery. Instead, the artwork will be placed into a glass and metal Art Bin as big as a room; at the end of six weeks all of the artwork will be thrown away as trash. Modern Art is Rubbish is described by Landy as "a monument to creative failure." The show opened Thursday and so far holds fifty of Landy's own paintings, as well as others by well-known artists Tracey Emin, Peter Blake and Damien Hirst. Landy is accepting public contributions through March 14. [Source: Times Online]
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Art Gallery of Alberta's Grand Opening

Million Dollar Monet Recovered After 9 Years

Claude Monet's oil painting "Plage de Pourville" (1882) was recovered this week after being stolen from Poland's National Museum of Poznan in September 2000.

WARSAW — French Impressionist Claude Monet's 1882 oil painting Plage de Pourville has returned home to Poland after being stolen more than nine years ago. A spokesman for the Poznan police told the AFP that the artwork "had been kept in a good condition" and "hasn't suffered any visible damage."

The Monet painting depicts a beach in Pourville, a small village on the Normandy coast of France, where the artist often found inspiration. In September 2000, the artwork was on view  at the National Museum of Poznan in western Poland; it was the only Monet  in the country on public display.

The suspect allegedly cut the original painting from its frame and replaced it with a copy painted on cardboard. Investigators say he had been seen sketching in the museum galleries just two days before committing the crime.

Plage de Pourville was valued at an estimated $1 million at the time of the theft, but a museum official told the press, "to us it was a priceless masterpiece."

Fingerprints and other evidence helped police to identify the thief, who later confessed to the crime. Identified only as Robert Z., the 41-year-old suspect was arrested Tuesday in the southern Polish city of Olkusz. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
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Million Dollar Monet Recovered After 9 Years

String of Art Thefts Hits Southern France

Thirty artworks were reported stolen from a private villa in La Cadiere d'Azur, France.

DRAGUIGNAN, FRANCE — Just days after a Degas pastel was reported stolen from the Cantini Museum of Marseille, another theft of artwork has occurred in the southern coastal town of La Cadiere d'Azur, France. The owner of a private villa was vacationing in Sweden at the time of the break-in but returned home after a caretaker reported the burglary. A preliminary inventory estimates around 30 artworks were taken, valued at a reported $1.4 million. The stolen collection includes pieces by Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau.

The medieval Provencal town of La Cadière d'Azur is a charming hilltop village surrounded by wooded hills of olive trees and famous vineyards. An investigation is being carried out by officials in nearby Marseille as well as by France’s Central Office for the Fight against Traffic in Cultural Goods. There is no indication that the two art crimes are linked.
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String of Art Thefts Hits Southern France

Museum Watchman Arrested in Degas Theft

"Les Choristes" (1876) by Edgar Degas was reported stolen from the Cantini Museum on Thursday.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE — A security guard at the Cantini Museum of contemporary art made a shocking discovery on Thursday morning; hours later a night watchman was taken into police custody. The museum remain closed Thursday while authorities examined footage from security cameras. Since there were no signs of a break-in, the theft was thought to be an inside job.

The watchman was suspected of stealing a rare work of art by French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. The 13"x10" chalk pastel entitled Les Choristes ("The Chorus") depicts a colorful group of male singers performing on stage and was created in 1876. The piece is reportedly worth $1.15 million.

Les Choristes was on loan from the Musee d'Orsayas part of an exhibition featuring 20 works by the 19th century artist. Marseilles city hall, which runs the Cantini Museum, said 70,000 people had already visited the exhibition due to close January 3 before heading to Italy and Canada.
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Museum Watchman Arrested in Degas Theft

Munch Art Heist Was Well-Planned, Oslo Police Say

OSLO, NORWAY — Perhaps it's the miserable, tortuous scenes in the artwork of Edvard Munch that makes it attractive to the criminal element. The Symbolist painter's most famous agony-laden image, The Scream, was stolen on the same day as the opening ceremony of the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. In 2004, another version of The Scream and the Madonna were both taken from Oslo's Munch Museum. And on Thursday, a man smashed the window of the Nyborg Kunst art gallery in Oslo and snatched Edvard Munch's Historien.

Historien (Norwegian for history), is a rare lithograph, measuring approximately 2x3 ft and estimated to be worth $355,000. Though several copies of the work exist, the stolen piece was hand-embellished by Edvard Munch, making it unique and quite valuable.

Norway's most popular artist, Edvard Munch was a major influence on the development of the early twentieth-century's Expressionist movement. Rather than depicting physical reality in his art, Munch concentrated on illustrating raw emotions like fear, misery and death.

Authorities have already recovered the thief's vehicle, reported stolen 10 days prior to the Munch heist. "This leads us to believe it was a well planned robbery," said John Roger Lund, head of the organized crime unit for Oslo police.

The artworks stolen in 1994 and 2004 were later recovered. Police are hoping for a similar outcome in this case.

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Read More - Munch Artwork Stolen from Oslo Gallery | AFP

[Photo: A version of Edvard Munch's Historien, 1912-1913.]

Munch Art Heist Was Well-Planned, Oslo Police Say

Art Collector Waives Insurance Policy for Stolen Andy Warhol Paintings

LOS ANGELES -- The LAPD would like to speak with art collector, Richard L. Weisman, the owner of 11 Andy Warhol paintings which he reported stolen from his home in early September.

That is, if they can track him down.

The elusive Weisman has apparently decided not to collect on his insurance policy for the missing fine art, estimated to be worth $25 million.

It seems unthinkable that anyone would settle for such a loss, but Weisman worries that an investigation would impose on his friends and family. "They turn you into a suspect," he explained, adding that he doesn't want his records being pored over by authorities.

Police say they do not have a suspect in the case as of yet.

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[Read More - Man Who Reported Stolen Warhols Waives Insurance | AP]

Art Collector Waives Insurance Policy for Stolen Andy Warhol Paintings