louvre heist security experts prevent art theft 1234758458

On Sunday at around 9:30 a.m., robbers broke into the Louvre's Apollo Gallery using a cherry picker and an angle grinder, stealing nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in less than eight minutes. ARTnews consulted security experts who noted that the theft exploited systemic vulnerabilities, pointing to a pattern of recent museum heists including the Natural History Museum in Paris, the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, and the Dresden crown jewels theft in Germany. The Louvre had previously faced staff walkouts over inadequate security staffing, and director Laurence des Cars has requested a police station be installed at the museum.

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A new TV series titled "The Artist" on The Network offers a chaotic, irreverent take on art history, centering on a widow (Janet McTeer) who may have murdered her robber-baron husband. The show features historical figures like Edgar Degas and Thomas Edison, blending campy soap-opera drama with accurate art-historical references, including real artworks by Monet, Manet, Cassatt, and Degas. The final episodes air December 25 on a free ad-sponsored platform created by director Aram Rappaport.

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Days before Art Basel Paris opens at the Grand Palais, a brazen daytime robbery at the Louvre Museum saw thieves steal jewels once belonging to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. Three masked men used a cherry picker and power tools to smash into the Galerie d’Apollon and fled within minutes, leaving one damaged crown behind. The heist has dominated French headlines and prompted political outrage, with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez calling the stolen items of “inestimable heritage and historical value.” Art Basel organizers offered a general statement about taking security seriously but did not provide specifics when asked about steps taken in light of the robbery.

art basel paris louvre heist security response 1234757955

Days before Art Basel Paris opens at the Grand Palais, a brazen daytime robbery at the Louvre Museum saw thieves escape with jewels once belonging to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. The heist, carried out by three masked men using a cherry picker and power tools, targeted the Galerie d’Apollon and has dominated headlines in France. Art Basel organizers have offered general reassurances about security but declined to provide specifics when asked about steps taken in light of the robbery. The fair is debuting a new invitation-only preview called Avant Première, and features 206 galleries from 41 countries, including Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner. It also marks the final edition under director Clément Delépine.

Genesis P-Orridge’s Subversive Mail Art Goes on View

A focused exhibition at Art Metropole in Toronto presents a selection of mail art submissions by the late transgressive artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge to the Canadian collective General Idea in the 1970s. Drawn from the National Gallery of Canada's collection, the show features letters, collages, photos, and ephemera that capture P-Orridge's early, boundary-pushing work with collectives like COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle.

Works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse Snatched in Major Italian Art Heist

Four hooded thieves stole three valuable paintings from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy, in a swift nighttime heist. The stolen works include Paul Cézanne's 'Still Life with Cherries,' Henri Matisse's 'Odalisque on the Terrace, 1922,' and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Les Poissons (Fish), 1917,' collectively worth millions of euros. The operation, described as highly structured and organized, took less than three minutes.

Louvre Robbery: Security Overhaul and Investigation Update

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The Louvre Museum has announced a massive €80 million ($92 million) security overhaul following a brazen daytime heist on October 19, where thieves stole imperial jewels valued at €88 million. The investigation revealed significant institutional failures, including outdated software and weak passwords like "Louvre," allowing local thieves to enter via a movers' lift and escape on scooters in under seven minutes. While four suspects from the Paris suburbs have been charged, the majority of the stolen items remain unrecovered.

veneklasens post werner plans sothebys saudi arabia sale morning links for january 28 2026 1234771198

Dealer Gordon VeneKlasen has announced plans to relaunch his gallery under his own name, VeneKlasen Gallery, after splitting from Michael Werner Gallery. He will take over the New York and London locations, while Werner's Los Angeles outpost will close. Justine Birbil and Kadee Robbins have been promoted to partners. The gallery will debut at Art Basel Qatar with a solo presentation by Issy Wood and will host inaugural exhibitions of works by Sigmar Polke. Separately, a rare 16th-century portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola, "Portrait of a Canon Regular" (1552), has been rediscovered and is on view at the Winter Show at Manhattan's Park Avenue Armory, at the booth of dealer Robert Simon. The work was found in a private collection in Durham, North Carolina, after being thought lost.

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Nine jewels stolen from the Louvre are valued at $102 million, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, contradicting earlier French claims that they were of “incalculable” value. The stolen items include a diadem worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, an emerald necklace of Empress Marie-Louise, and a diadem once held by Empress Eugénie, the latter containing nearly 2,000 diamonds. One crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was recovered after being dropped by the thieves, but the rest remain missing. The robbers entered through windows using small chainsaws and exited in under eight minutes. The Louvre has been closed since the heist, and cultural minister Rachida Dati defended the museum’s security systems before the National Assembly, calling the theft “a wound for all of us.”

louvre closed again staff strike january 2026 1234769454

The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Monday, January 12, 2026, after staff launched a strike over pay, staffing levels, and working conditions. The closure is the latest in a series of disruptions since mid-December, including a three-day walkout before Christmas and multiple delayed openings in early January. Unions representing employees say the museum is understaffed, poorly maintained, and workers are overworked, calling for increased hiring, higher wages, and greater infrastructure investment. The labor unrest has been compounded by heightened scrutiny following an October daytime robbery of crown jewels valued at over $100 million, and tensions have also flared over a proposed standalone gallery for Leonardo da Vinci's *Mona Lisa*, which unions deem unrealistic given existing problems.

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Frida Kahlo's 1940 self-portrait *El sueño (La cama)* sold for $54.7 million at Sotheby's on Thursday, setting a new auction record for a woman artist. The sale surpassed the previous record held by Georgia O'Keeffe and Kahlo's own prior record. Separately, Louvre director Laurence des Cars gave a major interview addressing security failures after a recent heist, and influential collector Dorothy Vogel died at age 90.

louvre admits stolen jewels are not insured art basel ubs collecting report shows growing influence of women and gen z and more morning links for october 23 2025 1234758550

The Louvre has admitted that jewels stolen from its collection in a daylight smash-and-grab robbery on Sunday are not privately insured, leaving the French state liable for the full $102 million loss if the items are not recovered. The heist targeted jewels once owned by Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, and a leaked audit revealed the museum's security systems were "outdated and inadequate." French officials have struggled to track the thieves, and the culture ministry confirmed that the state acts as its own insurer for works in their usual place of conservation, meaning no reimbursement will be made if the jewels remain missing.

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Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor, centers on a bumbling art heist at the fictional Framingham Museum of Art, where thieves steal paintings by American modernist Arthur Dove. Set in the early 1970s against the backdrop of Vietnam War protests, the film is deliberately slow-paced, drawing criticism from some early viewers who called it boring. Reichardt based the story on a real 1972 theft at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, where robbers took four paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gauguin, worth about $7.72 million today. Two high school girls accidentally witnessed the heist, and a guard was shot, though all paintings were recovered within weeks.

art heist that inspired the mastermind 1234757268

Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor, depicts a low-stakes art heist at the fictional Framingham Museum of Art, inspired by a real 1972 theft at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. In the actual heist, two robbers stole four paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gauguin, worth about $7.72 million today, and shot an unarmed guard. The film, set in the early '70s, draws on details like two schoolgirls who witnessed the crime, but Reichardt deliberately makes the cinematic version less thrilling than the real event.

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Brazilian authorities arrested one suspect after an armed robbery at São Paulo's Mário de Andrade Library on Sunday, where two thieves stole eight Henri Matisse engravings and works by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari. The artworks were displayed in a glass vitrine as part of the exhibition “From the Book to the Museum,” which was set to close November 30. The thieves held up a security guard and a couple, stuffed the items into a canvas bag, and discarded some works near a rubbish heap during their escape, partially captured by facial recognition cameras. The second suspect remains at large, and the library has not disclosed which specific works were taken.

Wilhelm Sasnal review – his wild juxtapositions are almost obscene

Polish artist Wilhelm Sasnal's new exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ in London presents a disorienting array of paintings. The works juxtapose disparate and often disturbing images, including a grotesque depiction of the Oval Office, portraits of his family, album art for the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, and a forest scene linked to the Holocaust, creating a deliberate sense of fragmentation and broken connections.

suspected fourth gang member behind louvre heist arrested 1234763889

On Tuesday, four more suspects were arrested in connection with the theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris last month. One of the men, arrested in Laval, is suspected of being the fourth gang member involved in the heist, which occurred on October 19 when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. The other three previously charged suspects were identified as Ayed G, Slimane K, and Abdoulaye N. Three relatives of the new suspect were also taken for questioning. One of the stolen pieces, a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie, was recovered outside the museum.

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A cousin of one of the suspected robbers in the Louvre heist has spoken out in an interview with ABC News. The man, identified as Mehdy, told ABC News' James Longman on "Impact x Nightline" that his cousin was a low-income worker who sold fruit and had children. Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the heist, which occurred on October 19 when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Louvre's Apollo Gallery. One suspect remains at large, and a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was later recovered outside the museum.

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Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing the French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum last month. One suspect, identified as 39-year-old Abdoulaye N., is a former security guard at the Centre Pompidou and a social media influencer known for motocross stunts under the name Doudou Cross Bitume. His DNA was found at the crime scene, and he is suspected of breaking into the museum's Apollo gallery through an unsecured window before escaping on a motorbike. He has a prior criminal record including a 2014 jewelry store robbery conviction, and was due in court for a separate case. The stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.

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The Louvre Museum reopened on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after a dramatic jewel heist on Sunday, October 19, in which robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal eight pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery in just seven minutes. The second-floor gallery housing France’s crown jewels remains closed as investigations continue, and the museum’s security systems—deemed outdated and inadequate in a prior official report—are under heavy scrutiny. Museum director Laurence des Cars was booed by staff and is expected to address questions in a hearing later Wednesday, while the thieves remain at large.

veneklasen gallery appoints new partners winds down los angeles 1234771182

Dealer Gordon VeneKlasen has announced plans to open his own eponymous gallery after separating from Michael Werner Gallery, where he ran the New York space for over 30 years. As part of the agreement, VeneKlasen will take over Werner's New York and London locations, while the short-lived Los Angeles branch of Michael Werner Gallery will close. Two longtime employees, Justine Birbil and Kadee Robbins, have been promoted to partners at VeneKlasen Gallery. The gallery will debut at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar with a solo presentation of works by Issy Wood, followed by exhibitions of Sigmar Polke's paintings in New York and London.

art bites singerie monkeys 2716648

This article explores the artistic tradition of Singerie, or 'monkey trick,' a genre that depicts primates dressed and acting like humans. It traces the history from its origins in the early 1600s through its peak in the Rococo period, citing examples such as Jan Brueghel the Elder's 'Monkeys Feasting' (c. 1620) and Edwin Landseer's 'The Monkey Who Had Seen the World' (1827). The piece connects this historical convention to contemporary culture, noting its influence on the 2024 Robbie Williams biopic 'Better Man,' where the singer is portrayed as a chimpanzee, and on modern satirical works like Banksy's 'Devolved Parliament' (2009).

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Eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels were stolen from the Louvre Museum on October 19, including a pearl-and-diamond tiara and a bow-shaped brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, as well as a sapphire parure and diadem owned by Queen Maria Amalia. The theft has drawn attention to the jewels' complex history: most of the Crown Jewels were auctioned off in 1887 by the French government to eliminate monarchical symbols, and the stolen pieces were among the few remaining in the Louvre's collection, some repurchased at great expense in the 1990s and 2000s with help from the Société des Amis du Louvre.

The Big Review | Jacques-Louis David at the Musée du Louvre, Paris ★★★★★

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has opened a major retrospective of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), the greatest Neoclassical artist, marking his biggest survey in nearly four decades. The exhibition, mounted for the 200th anniversary of his death, comprises just over 100 works, including strategic loans from France and eight other countries, and complements the Louvre's own holdings. The show aims to redefine David beyond the Neoclassical label, presenting him instead as both a "realist" and an "idealist," and is compared to blockbusters like the Rijksmuseum's Vermeer show.

Gunmen stole works by Matisse and Portinari from Brazilian library in brazen daytime heist

On Sunday, December 7, two armed gunmen entered the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade (BMA) in São Paulo during public visiting hours and stole 13 artworks: eight engravings by Henri Matisse and five works by Candido Portinari. The theft occurred on the final day of the exhibition "Do livro ao museu" (From the Book to the Museum), organized in collaboration with the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP). The thieves subdued a security guard and an elderly couple, broke a glass display case, and escaped with the works in a canvas bag. Police have identified one suspect and seized the getaway vehicle; Interpol and other agencies have been alerted to prevent the works from being sold on the commercial market.

The Rembrandt robber: five takeaways from an insider’s book on a notorious art thief

Myles Connor, an experienced career criminal, stole Rembrandt's "Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn" from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on April 14, 1975, using the painting as leverage in another crime. In his new book "The Rembrandt Heist," Anthony Amore—director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—analyzes Connor's motivations and methods, presenting five key takeaways from the heist.

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A French national audit report, the Cour des Comptes, has revealed severe security deficiencies at the Louvre Museum, finding that only 39% of its rooms had cameras as of 2024 and that a security upgrade begun in 2015 only resulted in a tender at the end of last year, with completion not expected until 2032. The report was released shortly after a theft of crown jewels from the museum, and it criticizes the Louvre for prioritizing acquisitions and post-pandemic projects over essential security investments. Louvre director Laurence des Cars acknowledged the museum's "very inadequate" and "outdated" security systems during a Senate hearing, though she stated alarms functioned during the heist. Four suspects are in custody for the October 19 robbery.

louvre jewel heist petty criminals 1234759819

Paris prosecutors have revealed that the theft of French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum was carried out by petty criminals, not organized crime professionals. Four individuals—three men and one woman—have been charged, with two of the men having multiple prior theft convictions. The heist occurred on October 19, when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. One crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was later recovered outside the museum, but eight artifacts remain missing.

louvre laurence des cars senate hearing 1234758381

On Wednesday, Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre Museum, testified before the French Senate about the theft of nine pieces of France's crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery. The heist occurred on Sunday when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. Des Cars revealed that security cameras were outdated and inadequate, with only one camera covering the breached balcony, and that she offered her resignation afterward, which the French Minister of Culture refused. The museum had previously faced criticism over security, including a staff walkout in June over staffing and safety concerns, and an official report had flagged outdated systems and lack of CCTV.

Heirs to the Bic Empire Say They’ve Been Robbed of a Renaissance Masterwork

The heirs to the Bic pen fortune, Gonzalve, Charles, and Guillaume Bich, have filed a lawsuit alleging a 15th-century masterpiece by Fra Angelico was stolen from their family. They claim the painting, 'Saint Sixtus,' was taken by their father's chauffeur in 2006 and sold to art dealer Richard Feigen, who later sold it to Chilean collector Alvaro Saieh in 2018. The heirs are now suing Saieh to reclaim the artwork and seeking the return of sale proceeds from Feigen's estate.