Comment by slamat90
2 days ago
Whoa, that's crazy. Did they rationalize it by saying they were preserving it? Were they an art collector/lover in general? or just someone who committed a theft of opportunity decades ago and has been carrying it around ever since, like in The Goldfinch? (I guess I assume the theft was long ago and overseas in some country without an extradition treaty, otherwise I feel like you'd be nuts to be parading millions of dollars of art around random people). Very curious
One of their rationalizations was preservation. They love the piece. They're a recognized expert on this piece. Maybe the expert. I would hazard they are probably one of the best custodians of it, for now. They have it sealed in a display case. The last time I saw pics of the other one on public display it is also sealed in a display case in the lobby of a multi-billion dollar corp.
It had a very low value when it was purloined, but if it were to appear on the open market right now I have no idea what the price would be. Seven digits, easily. It's like snatching a Banksy from his first gallery show in 2001 when his stuff was like $100 on the wall of a restaurant.
It's not quite as romantic as a Goldfinch style heist. Although I feel in some ways it might be to the same point where they can no longer return it since it's become bigger than they thought. I don't believe they need the money, so it might be a Thomas Crown situation and it might just end up being anonymously dropped back off one day.