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The Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Admission: Free / Parking $15 per car
"Illuminated Manuscripts from Belgium and the Netherlands", August 24 2010 - February 6, 2011
"New Galleries for Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture and Decorative Arts"
May 18, 2010 - Ongoing
"Foundry to Finish: The Making of a Bronze Sculpture" June 23, 2010 - January 2, 2011
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Matisse & Picasso Stolen Museum of Modern Art Paris
Art News May 2010
 Henri Matisse "La Pastorale" 1905 Modern Art Museum Paris
A lone thief broke into the city's Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris overnight on Wednesday, also taking works by George Braque, Amedeo Modigliani and Fernand Lege.
A single masked raider was caught on CCTV entering through a broken window, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
Police and art investigators have now cordoned off the museum, which is just across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower.
They believe that a reinforced glass window was smashed late on Wednesday night. A security lock inside the building had also been broken.
Security senors suggested that the raid took place at around 6.50am on Thursday, said police.
"It's an enormous crime, one of the biggest in art history," said a source close to the enquiry, who estimated that the stolen paintings were worth €500 million (£430 million).
The paintings stolen were Pigeon with Green Peas by Picasso; Pastoral by Henri Matisse; The Olive Tree near Estaque by Georges Braque; The Woman with the Fan by Amedeo Modigliani ; and Still Life with Chandeliers by Fernand Leger.
France has traditionally been at the centre of the international art theft underworld, with paintings apparently regularly stolen to order.
In 2007 two Picasso paintings worth £50 million were stolen from the Paris home of the artist's granddaughter, Diana Widmaier, just across the river from the latest theft.
The works, Maya with Doll and Portrait of Jacqueline disappeared mysteriously at night but there was no sign of a break-in.
Twelve Picasso paintings valued at around £17 million were stolen from the French Riviera villa of another of his grandchildren, Marina Picasso, in 1989.
Galleries including the Orsay Museum on the Left Bank and the Picasso Museum on the Right Bank have also regularly been targeted.
Insiders working for low pay in the gallery are often suspected of helping the criminals.
Because the paintings stolen are usually so well known, it would be impossible to sell them on the open market.
Picasso is the most stolen artist in the world because of his prolific output, recognisable signature and valuable works. There are more than 500 missing Picassos on the London-based Art Loss Register of stolen art.
The Museum of Modern Art in Paris, which is dedicated to 20th Century art, is one of the most highly secure in the world.
It was inaugurated in 1961 and contains around 8000 works, all illustrating various art world trends.
-Peter Allen, Paris Correspondent |
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The Getty Villa Malibu
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Admission: Free / Parking $15 / Advanced Tickets Required
"The Art of Ancient Greek Theater" August 26, 2010 - January 3, 2011
"Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity"
October 8, 2009 - Ongoing
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Orange Cty Museum of Art
850 San Clemente Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Admission and Parking Prices Vary
"2010 California Bienneal"
October 24, 2010 - March 13, 2011
"Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy", April 10, 2011 - September 4, 2011
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LA County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Admission and Parking Prices Vary
"Manly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of
Thomas Eakins", July 25, 2010 - October 17, 2010
"Eye for the Sensual: Selections from the Resnick Collection", October 2, 2010 - January 2, 2011
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"The beauty one can find in art is one of the pitifully few real and lasting products of human endeavor." ~ J. Paul Getty, American industrialist and avid collector of art and antiquities
"Give me a museum, and I'll fill it."
~ Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter |
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