Evening star., 1938-05-01
ART THIEVES GAIN
LITTLE FOR RISK
Features of Paintings Are
Known and Detection
Is Easy.
Spec,sl Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK. April 30-The thieves
who looted the castle of Sir Edmund
Davies near Canterbury, England, are
likely to find the five paintings they
purloined poor speculation. Though
the works are valued at 100000
pounds (s500.O00) the robbers will
be fortunate to obtain a small frac-
ton Of this sum.
Robbing art galleries and private
collections is rather prevalent crime,
despite its lack of profit Much in
genuity has been displayed by thieves,
but the loot is difficult to dispose of.
The features of almost every valuable
painting are known to a wide circle
of connoiSseurs whose aid is usually
invoked in the purchase of a maio
work of art. Consequently detection
is frequent.
One of the most priced possessions
of the Cathedral of Seville was The
Vision of ST. Anthony" by Murillo
A thief cut the saint from the rest
OF the picture, framed the fragment
carried it to America and attempted
to sell it to New York dealer for
$500, The kneeling figure was rec
ognized. The damage was almost
wholly repaired.
Most Valuable Easiest Detected.
The more valuable a painting, the
more chance of detection, as Vicen-
ZION Perugia discovered when he
committed one Of the most famous
thefts in the history of art-that of
the Mona Lisa" Leonardo da Vim
cis masterpiece. Perugia had been
employed as a workman in the Lou
vre, where the painting hung. He
was able to pass in and out without
difficulty, and learned the habits of
the attendants. One day in 1911 he
simply removed the smiling portrait
from its frame, slipped it under his
blouse (the picture is 20 by 80 inches.
on a wooden paneD and walked out.
An immense cry went up. but Pc
rugla remained quietly in Paris, un-
detected for more than two years.
Then he offered the painting for sale
to a Florence art dealer. who lured
him to Italy and had him arrested
Perugia vainly protested that his
motives were purely patriotic. a re-
venge for the Italian art stolen by
Napoleon. but the French put him
in jail and Mona Lisa smiled again
from the walls of the Louvre.
Perugia's exploit indicated the COM
parative ease with which art treas
ures could be stolen. as well as the
difficulty of proftlng by such thefts
During the clamor awakened by his
act, a Copenhagen editor, seeking to
prove the need of more careful Gus
tody of local art. took a painting three
feet square from one of the city's
museums in broad daylight. Then
he telephoned the director of the
museum, told him that such a rob-
berry had been reported, and asked
for details. An hour later. museum
officials denied their loss. only to be
contounded by the return of the
painting.
Painting Sent to Newspaper.
Similar opportunities and reports
OF the value of great works have
tempted many who later repented.
A small painting by Guido Reni.
valued at S500000, was distracted
from the Crocker Art Gallery in Sac
ramento. Calf Later it was sent to
a San Francisco newspaper with a
note saying the thief intended to
commit suicide. A $1,000 water color
by John Singer Sargent was stolen
from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts
and Sciences in 1914 and returned
week later by mail
In Germany painting by Lucas
Cranach, taken from the Leipzig Mu-
scum Of Municipal History. was found
abandoned not long after in the Berlin
Post Office.
Ever if the thief is able to raise
some money on his loot, the amount
Is out of proportion to the value
Paintings valued at 100000 netted
one thief only $500 at a pawn shop
stu, some Of the less readily identi-
fable pieces of art sometimes are
sold to legitimate collectors for re-
spectacle prices. In 1904 the late
j. P. Morgan purchased a cope in
good faith and lent it to the South
Kensington Museum in London. There
1t was recognized as the cope Of Pope
Nicholas w. which had been stolen
in italy the year before Mr.. Morgan
returned the vestment, refusing any
compensation.
One effect of this difficulty in dis
posing Of stolen art has been to tempt
thieves to destroy their loot. Many
treasures have been DESTROYED to
obtain such incidental decorations as
the precious metals and stones some
times found in frames. In 1927 six
miniatures, worth $4,000 or more.
were taken from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. A few DAYS later two
OF the frames, studded with small
diamonds, were found in a pawn shop.
pledged for $75. The paintings were
doubtless destroyed.
Kidnapping Technique.
Another form of art thieyerv en-
ploys technique similar to that of
kidnapers. This has become more
common OF recent years, when ease
OF communication has multiplied the
troubles besetting those who steal to
sell. But famous example occurred
as long ago as 1875.
Gainsborough's Duchess of Devon
shire" was on display in a London
gallery. Entering through a window,
the thief, an American named Adam
Wirth, took the painting. apparently
with the idea Of raising money to bail
out friends who were in trouble with
the law. Unsuccessful. Wir.h dis
appeared and the picture went with
him.
Twenty-Five years later, acting
through a go-between, wirth was able
TO obtain $4,000 ransom for the paint
ing. It was sold almost Immediately
for S150,000.
This occupation has its hazards and
can be checked by stringent enforce
rnent Of the laws concerning COM
pounding a felony. One art kidnaper,
however, fell victim not to the latter