The Pros and Cons of Stealing Fine Art
Easy to steal, impossible to sell
The gold coin Big Maple Leaf on display at Berlin's Bode Museum. Thieves stole the coin, weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and with a face value of $1 million, from Berlin's Bode Museum on March 27, 2017.
Photographer: Marcel Mettelsiefen/DPA
Ten days ago, a Banksy print valued at about $40,000 was stolen from a Canadian exhibit of the artist’s work. It was a seemingly effortless crime—a man walked in, took the work off the wall, and walked out—but then, most art crimes are. The heavy lifting comes later.
“The main rule is that it’s not that hard to steal art, even from museums, but it’s almost impossible to translate that art into cash,” says Noah Charney, a scholar and author who’s published multiple books on art theft. Paintings can be quickly cut out of frames, and small sculptures can be tucked into bags—even jewelry can be secreted away—but finding a buyer for your art or diamonds is often impossible.