This is what I love about HN at the weekend, it sort of slows down, there is less moving through it. Then you get these brilliant long reads, things that wouldn't land on the homepage during the week, perfect for coffee and sitting in the garden in the summer sunshine.
In my local town, a town it seems almost nobody in North America has heard of, is a small art museum containing among the top collections of European and oil paintings in North America. It was awesome to take an art history class in college and then go to the local museum and many of those paintings from the class textbooks are right there in person.
That museum has staff standing there watching to ensure patrons do not get too close to the art. Because the staff are continuously and actively watching the art work in person it would seem challenging to steal anything from there.
pnut 782 days ago [-]
Why bother calling attention to the town or the museum, and then not proceed to name them?
dangle1 782 days ago [-]
I'm thinking OP is referring to the Spencer? Definitely a jewel of the midwest hiding in a small town.
stealing art is pointless, with high risk and no reward. there is little or no resell value unless you can find a collector who will pay you for the piece. totally illiquid market too.
Scramblejams 782 days ago [-]
And yet people do it. Repeatedly. They don’t seem to find it pointless.
atourgates 782 days ago [-]
That’s part of what makes this story so interesting.
The thief did it because, basically, he wanted to. While mostly not selling hundreds of millions worth of art in his possession and living in poverty.
adrianN 782 days ago [-]
I'd assume that art thieves first find a collector who wants the piece and then steal it.
appleflaxen 783 days ago [-]
> All this is recounted, thrillingly, in “The Art Thief” (Knopf), by the journalist Michael Finkel. It is his third book, and also the third one to search for meaning—moral, aesthetic, existential—in criminal acts. This is an interest he comes by honestly, or, more precisely, dishonestly. In 2002, Finkel, who was then a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, plummeted from grace when the protagonist of an article he wrote, about allegations of child slavery on West African cocoa plantations, turned out to be a composite character. The Times fired him and soon afterward published a lengthy correction, which took his transgressions from private to public and took a sledgehammer to his reputation.
So a sensational story about a unique person being told by someone who was caught lying about a sensational story about a unique person?
dhosek 782 days ago [-]
Interestingly, one of his books is on my (ridiculously long) to-read list and his first book (about a murderer who assumed Finkel’s identity while on the run in Mexico) sounds interesting enough that if/when I get to the Finkel book on my list, if I like the writing, I’ll likely add the other books to my list.
jsnell 782 days ago [-]
I suspect the question is not whether this is a true story, but how easily the fabrications will fall apart under inspection.
For example, the article claims $2 billion in about 300 items. That's an average value of $7 million. Is that even remotely plausible?
resolutebat 782 days ago [-]
Yes? There are countless paintings that have sold at auction for over $100 million.
Sure, that is the list of the most expensive (and famous) works of art in the world. That kind of stuff getting stolen is actual news. The modus operandi here is supposed to be hitting small rural museums for whatever happens to catch the thief's fancy, and nobody even realizing that the thefts are happening. Sure, I'll buy that could happen if stealing minor pieces. But with pieces worth $10 million? Come on.
36364949thrw 782 days ago [-]
Since you can stuff a 2 feet long urn in your sleeve as you somehow fishout a ticket for the museum guard, yes. Journalism is one profession, telling gripping yarns is another.
slushh 782 days ago [-]
>which took his transgressions from private to public
In which way were his transgressions private when the transgressing article was published?
codpiece 782 days ago [-]
[flagged]
splendor_spoon 782 days ago [-]
Tough to say as the article was about a Frenchman.
justinclift 782 days ago [-]
Well, the comment you're replying to reads (too me) as being sarcastic of the article author. Along the lines of "why are you adding the persons country of origin in a negative way?".
Seems kind of similar to how authors from some countries commonly include the skin colour of people they're describing, as if it makes a difference. The US is a stand out example of it, though it's likely not the only one.
This is what I love about HN at the weekend, it sort of slows down, there is less moving through it. Then you get these brilliant long reads, things that wouldn't land on the homepage during the week, perfect for coffee and sitting in the garden in the summer sunshine.
That museum has staff standing there watching to ensure patrons do not get too close to the art. Because the staff are continuously and actively watching the art work in person it would seem challenging to steal anything from there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Museum_of_Art
The thief did it because, basically, he wanted to. While mostly not selling hundreds of millions worth of art in his possession and living in poverty.
So a sensational story about a unique person being told by someone who was caught lying about a sensational story about a unique person?
For example, the article claims $2 billion in about 300 items. That's an average value of $7 million. Is that even remotely plausible?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintin...
https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/money-laundering-activities...
In which way were his transgressions private when the transgressing article was published?
Seems kind of similar to how authors from some countries commonly include the skin colour of people they're describing, as if it makes a difference. The US is a stand out example of it, though it's likely not the only one.