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You don't have an art collecting problem, but this guy does (GQ article)
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23 posts in this topic

Only halfway through but I've already been struck several times by how profoundly lucky central Europe was that this sociopath directed his attention to art instead of vulnerable women (or homosexuals or children, for that matter).

Replace steals/stealing with rape/murder/cannibalism (Dahmer) and feel the chill creep up your spine...

The more he steals, the better he gets. He learns, with precision, the limits of a security camera's vision. He hones his timing and perfects his composure. “You have to control your gestures, your words, your reflexes,” Breitwieser says. “You need a predatory instinct.” He pounces the instant he senses everyone's attention is diverted. “The pleasure of having,” says Breitwieser, “is stronger than the fear of stealing.”

 

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Incredible story.  Thanks for the link Glen.

It's always shocking how lax some museums can be with respect to security.    Living in Boston, we were stunend by the massive Isabella Stuart Gardner heist back in the mid 1990's (valued at $500 million).   This particular museum had college students holding down the fort at night and needless to say they didn't put up much resistance when the thieves came and were ill-prepared to deal with these threats.

 

 

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37 minutes ago, spider9698 said:

Not to hijack the thread, but for those looking for more details on the Gardner heist, I highly recommend the following:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Heist-Worlds-Largest-Unsolved/dp/0061451843/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DMSJ2D3AEAG39H5G47WB

The heist was March 18th, 1990. I was a senior in HS in MA, having only moved to the area from TX late October 1989. My art class took a field trip to the Gardner on Friday the 15th...excepting visitors over the weekend, I was -coincidentally- one of the last people to see the collection intact. Not that I knew that until the story hit the news later though! At the time I had only a passing interest in "old" art (Old Master, etc), I was much more into Faust and Marvel superheroes...so I didn't respect what I'd seen at all. Nowadays...I can't believe I got from TX to the Gardner in just five months, with no interest in museums...just girls and comics, and got to see that stuff before it POOFED! It's been a good life and I'm only halfway done ;)

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That's a crazy story. Someone stole a comic from my room once in the same way that guy did the ivory Adam and Eve statue. But I knew they did it as no one else was in my room during that period.

When I was reading the story, I kept thinking Thomas Crown and they mentioned it in the story. But the guy went too far. He has a sickness. Like everything eventually your luck will run out or you'll lose your edge. He was probably too young to realize that at the time.

The thief you really have to worry about is the one that does it once and disappears. And you never see the item again. There was a recent story like that about a couple that stole a painting. Maybe they had a few, I can't remember exactly. Perhaps the story was here as well. I think this is it.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/03/a-small-town-couple-left-behind-a-stolen-painting-worth-over-100-million-and-a-big-mystery/

 

Edited by GeneticNinja
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On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 1:51 PM, glendgold said:

A fantastic article about the world's most prolific art thief.  I find articles like this to generally be just okay, but this one is particularly well written, with a few great twists toward the end that I didn't see coming: https://www.gq.com/story/secrets-of-the-worlds-greatest-art-thief

Also, here's a guy not too worried about the whole 1031 thing. 

 

G
 

 

Image result for Thomas Crown affair gif

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On 3/14/2019 at 3:11 AM, GeneticNinja said:

There was a recent story like that about a couple that stole a painting.

$100M painting, purchased in an estate sale (30 years after it was stolen):

Quote

 

Then in 2017, a furniture and antiques dealer in Silver City, New Mexico bought the painting at an estate sale. Researching the piece, he discovered an article about the theft. He notified the museum. A conservator with the university found it to be a perfect match.

The dealer had gotten the painting from the estate of Jerry and Rita Alter. The art work had been hanging in their home in Cliff, New Mexico. Relatives discovered a photo of the couple taken Thanksgiving Day 1985 in Tucson. Jerry Alter died in 2012 and his wife in 2017. Authorities have never publicly called them suspects.

 

There's hope you'll find that grail piece yet.....if it doesn't end up in recycling.....

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On 3/16/2019 at 8:58 AM, Taylor G said:

$100M painting, purchased in an estate sale (30 years after it was stolen):

There's hope you'll find that grail piece yet.....if it doesn't end up in recycling.....

It probably shouldn't be surprising since this is a comic forum. But that painting does nothing for me. I hear $100 million and I don't see it. I see that painting and think of this scene in The Burbs.

 

 

Edited by GeneticNinja
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And what is a non comic collector supposed to see when they see the Oa for say, The last page of hulk 180?     Do you have any idea how stupid it would look to them that the page sold for 700k or whatever?   Do you think they “see” the value?    Clearly a large misconception is that value has anything to do with aesthetics.    You don’t need to “see” it.    It’s a painter that everyone has heard of.    That’s enough on its own, just like wolverine being a character everyone has heard of can lift what should be a three or four figure page into a six figure and maybe by now seven figure page 

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5 hours ago, Bronty said:

Clearly a large misconception is that value has anything to do with aesthetics.

100 million Red Chinese artists would agree. They can pump out the most beautiful 'stuff' but it never goes for more than $19.99 + shipping on eBay. You can't even get a cheesy Cape Cod beach scene print at a tourist trap 'gallery' that low.

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30 minutes ago, vodou said:

100 million Red Chinese artists would agree. They can pump out the most beautiful 'stuff' but it never goes for more than $19.99 + shipping on eBay. You can't even get a cheesy Cape Cod beach scene print at a tourist trap 'gallery' that low.

Serious question-is there really beautiful and cheap art/paintings on ebay like you describe?  I never browse ebay anymore, but if there's some cheap and high quality eye candy to be had, well...

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1 hour ago, stinkininkin said:

Serious question-is there really beautiful and cheap art/paintings on ebay like you describe?  I never browse ebay anymore, but if there's some cheap and high quality eye candy to be had, well...

Yes. But it's all knockoffs or generic landscapes etc (which are probably still knockoffs but less recognizably so!) That's totally awesome for college grads putting something 'cool' up in their first apt or the ol' wife--interior-designer with not much in the way of taste...but those of us here, we all know the scoop: original art, the bestest ever even that we love, can be had with some patience and a bit of luck...chances enhanced greatly if one's budget exceeds 3 figures ;)

I mean...I got my two very favorite all-time favorite (ever-ever-most favorite, in case that wasn't evident?) pbo cover paintings from the 1980s (when I was teen and voraciously reading any/all genre horror, spy, cold war, sci-fi, etc fiction) for...$2500...for both. And the art is very nice as well, by a 'name' artist even. I'll take those any day over x50, x500 (or whatever) chinese picasso  or basquiat knockoffs. Or saving $2,450 lol

 

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