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 robbery raises serious questions about the security of public art collections in Brazil, especially given the brazen daytime nature of the heist and the cultural significance of the stolen works—including Matisse's iconic Jazz series and Portinari's prints tied to a classic of Brazilian literature. The incident comes less than two months after a major theft at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, highlighting a broader vulnerability of public institutions worldwide. The rarity and global attention to the stolen pieces make them difficult to sell, but the case underscores the need for improved security protocols and international cooperation to combat art trafficking.