May 3, 2001
CONTENTS:
- Re: I'm looking for a security device
- Art gallery confirms Nazi loot in collection
- Reward for Book 130 Years Overdue
- Library's treasured window stolen: Rare stained-glass worth thousands
- Experts Fear Da Vinci Restoration
From: IntlArtCop@aol.com
Subject: Re: I'm looking for a security device
To: securma@xs4all.nl
Dave:
There is a new technology coming out very soon. It is being Beta tested as we speak in Boston. I'm in an airport lounge typing this and will try to email it when I get to a phone so I can't take time now to explain but if you are interested please email me direct and I will explain when I land somewhere long enough to do so. I need to know a bit more about your needs to know if this will work for you.
Steve Keller
steve@stevekeller.com
Art gallery confirms Nazi loot in collection
A 15th century painting on display in the Queensland Art Gallery had been looted by the Nazis at the outbreak of World War II, it was revealed.
The Flemish painting was the first confirmed case of an artwork stolen by the Nazis being found in an Australian gallery. But Queensland Arts Minister Matt Foley said investigations proved the 506-year-old painting, entitled Virgin and Child, had been returned to the original owner's family after the war. Galleries around Australia and overseas are renewing efforts to authenticate the ownership of suspect artworks. Mr Foley said in the Queensland Art Gallery 59 works were in the process of being examined. "Quite simply, we in Queensland do not wish to be the receivers of stolen goods," Mr Foley said. He said the ownership of all the artworks should be confirmed by the end of the year. Virgin and Child had been confiscated by the Nazis from Jewish Czechoslovakian collector Oscar Bondy in 1939. The painting was selected personally by Adolf Hitler to be part of the collection for his Fuhrermuseum at Linz in Austria. The museum was never built because of the war and its artworks were stored in salt mines near Linz. The mines and other locations which housed looted Nazi treasure were discovered by the Allies in 1945. The investigation by the Queensland Art Gallery confirmed the Virgin and Child was returned to Mr Bondy's widow in 1947. Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council community affairs director Jeremy Jones praised Australian galleries' commitment to authenticating the ownership of their artworks. He said no-one should profit from genocide. "We had an extraordinary period where there was mass theft," Mr Jones said, referring to the holocaust. "There was a total suspension of any concept of morality because there were people who saw the possibility of benefiting from somebody else's terrible misfortune." The artworks still under review at the Queensland Art Gallery include paintings and sculptures of European origin acquired after 1932, whose prevenance may have gaps, or vague inaccurate information regarding ownership between 1933 and 1945.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/
Reward for Book 130 Years Overdue
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish city of Kilkenny is offering a reward of $2,869 for the return of a 450-year-old record book borrowed 130 years ago, no questions asked. The book, called the Liber Secundus and containing records of court cases and other local events from the first half of the 16th century, was apparently lent out by a clerk in the 1870s and never returned, Kilkenny's mayor Paul Cuddihy said Tuesday. ``We don't know where it is, but if somebody has it and we can prove it's genuine we're giving the money over and have the book returned,'' he said. The book belonged to a collection recording the history of Kilkenny, which was founded in the sixth century. ``We think that somebody borrowed the book, and it could have been somebody known to the town clerk at the time, who was borrowing the book to do research,'' said Cuddihy. The mayor, who has given up hope of retrieving another book in the collection which was last seen in 1352, said he felt time was running out for getting back the Liber Secundus. ``Because people are becoming more mobile and they're moving houses and they're throwing things out, we believe that whatever chance we have, if it's still in existence, we need to find it now, which is why we're putting up this reward.'' He said Kilkenny had set the reward at $2,869 (2001 Irish punts) on the advice of a public relations specialist to catch people's attention.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
Library's treasured window stolen: Rare stained-glass worth thousands
By LANE LAMBERT
The Patriot Ledger
QUINCY - Quincy public library officials discovered this week that a stained-glass window worth a minimum of $100,000 is missing and was apparently stolen in January. The thief removed the entire frame containing the window that has been on display since 1883 in the H.H. Richardson building of the Thomas Crane Public Library. The window, called "The Old Philosopher," was created by famed artist John LaFarge, who also worked with achitect Richardson on Trinity Church in Boston's Copley Square. Library Director Ann McLaughlin said yesterday the rare, cloisonne-style panel is probably worth $100,000 to $200,000. "It's just awful," she said. "We are sick about this." Quincy police, State Police and the FBI are investigating the theft. Quincy Police Capt. Robert Crowley said it will be difficult to recover the work without help from the public. "The trail is so cold," he said. "This happened four months ago." McLaughlin said the theft went unreported so long for two reasons: All the windows in the Richardson building have been covered by plywood and particle board during restoration work that's now under way, and work crews wouldn't have known the stained glass had previously been there. McLaughlin, Crowley, and Mayor James Sheets said the window was almost certainly stolen by someone who plotted the theft. "They knew what they were taking," Crowley said. A less valuable LaFarge panel was left untouched in its frame next to "The Old Philosopher." A third LaFarge panel is being restored for a return to the same window area. A library staff member found it in a closet in 1998, wrapped between two plain, leaded-glass windows. LaFarge produced the three as a set, probably at Richardson's request. LaFarge created larger stained-glass windows for Richardson's Romanesque Revival masterwork, Trinity Church in Copley Square. With the cloisonne technique for the library panel, LaFarge created the philosopher's face and hands without painting them in, as he and other stained-glass artists typically did. The figure required more than 1,000 tiny pieces of colored, heat-fused glass. The process was so demanding that LaFarge used it only a few times n and that fact, according to art historians, is what makes the Crane's panel so valuable. "The Old Philosopher" was temporarily removed for restoration and repair in 1989. Crowley said that rarity also makes the panel impossible to sell through normal channels. Museums and art and antique dealers would quickly recognize LaFarge's work. McLaughlin and the library staff believe the 29-by-16-inch "Philosopher" panel was taken during the first two weeks in January, near the time contractor W.T. Rich of Newton took control of the Richardson building. The Richardson building was closed in early December, so the Crane staff could move equipment, books and other materials into the new wing, which opened in February. The staff finished the move the first week in January. Rich took control of the building Jan. 8. Windows in the Richardson wing were then covered with plywood and particle board. McLaughlin said she noticed the LaFarge panel's empty space for the first time Monday afternoon, when she walked over to the Richardson wing to check the restoration work. "When I saw the light coming shining through, I felt my heart stop," she said. She said she knew right away that the panel had to be stolen, because Rich or a subcontractor wouldn't have removed it without approval from her and the library board of trustees. Sheets and McLaughlin said they haven't yet discussed whether the city will offer a reward for the panel's return.
http://www.ledger.southofboston.com/
Experts Fear Da Vinci Restoration
By PETER W. MAYER, Associated Press Writer
ROME (AP) - Plans to restore Leonardo da Vinci's unfinished masterpiece, ``The Adoration of the Magi,'' have provoked protests from art experts who fear the painting will be damaged. Despite the outcry, Florence's Uffizi Gallery - where the sepia-toned artwork is displayed - intends to press on with the restoration, the museum's director, Anna Maria Petrioli Tofani, said Wednesday.
more:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010502/wl/italy_leonardo_restoration_1.html