June 21, 2001

Robbers try to break in the Rodin museum in Paris

Date sent: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 23:14:26 +0200
On Tuesday June 19th, at 04:00, robber(s) tried to enter the main building of the Rodin museum in Paris. Fortunately, the shutters resisted and the guards reacted perfectly, following the instructions, so the intruders couldn't enter and were gone when the police arrived. The D.M.F. (direction of French national museums) issued a press release on the subject.

CONTACT: Jason Hall FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
202/289-9125

The AAM Guide to Provenance Research

By Nancy H. Yeide, Konstantin Akinsha,
and Amy L. Walsh
Washington, D.C. (June 1, 2001): The American Association of Museums (AAM) announces the release of its latest publication, The AAM Guide to Provenance Research-a comprehensive guide to tracing the ownership history of works of art from all periods. Written by noted provenance researchers Nancy H. Yeide of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., eastern European research specialist Konstantin Akinsha, and Amy L. Walsh of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the new Guide is the first of its kind, an indispensable resource for collectors, dealers, art galleries, museums, universities and others involved in the acquisition, display and research of art objects. The book has been termed the "Bible of provenance research . . . not just an invaluable reference guide, but also a highly entertaining read" by Jonathan Petropoulos, author of The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany.
The AAM Guide to Provenance Research is divided into three parts: Basic Provenance Research and Principles; Holocaust-Era Provenance Research, dedicated to the specific conditions of the Nazi era; and a section of detailed Appendices. Extensive information includes biographies of collectors and collections, dealer archives, "red-flag" names compiled by the Office of Strategic Services, illustrations of artworks, and reproductions of relevant documents, as well as fascinating case studies.
"Here in one volume is a historical overview, description of current methodology, invaluable resource indices, inventories, and listings of current databases-in-progress," says Karen Franklin, director of the Judaica Museum, Bronx, N.Y.
Review copies of The AAM Guide to Provenance Research are available to journalists and editors. Please contact Jane Lusaka, AAM's assistant director of publications, at (202) 218- 7694 or jlusaka@aam-us.org. Sale copies may be purchased through the AAM Bookstore at (202) 289-9127 or bookstore@aam-us.org, or online at www.aam-us.org.
The AAM Guide to Provenance Research
by Nancy H. Yeide, Konstantin Akinsha, and Amy L. Walsh
Paper, 304 pp. 2001, The American Association of Museums
ISBN 0-931201-73-X.
Order number I201.
$40 AAM members
$50 Non-members
Plus shipping & handling
The American Association of Museums, headquartered in Washington D.C., is the national service association representing the American museum community. AAM provides identification and dissemination of standards and best practices, direct services, leadership on museum issues, and representation in the area of government & public affairs. Since its founding in 1906, AAM has grown to more than 16,300 members, including more than 11,400 museum professionals and trustees, 3,000 museums, and 1,900 corporate members.

From: DikBarton@aol.com
Date sent: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 13:53:44 EDT
Subject:

Re: STOLEN TITANIC ARTIFACTS NOT RECOVERED

TITANIC ARTIFACTS STOLEN - STILL NOT RECOVERED

Details on the artifacts stolen from the Opryland Hotel, Nashville on January 28.
PRICELESS artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic have been stolen during a daring heist.
The nine Bank notes and ten assorted coins represented part of the Artifact Coins & Currency Collection belonging to RMS. TITANIC, Inc. on display as a preview piece prior to the 'TITANIC the Artifact Exhibition' opening in May 3rd until 30 August 2001.
Banknotes and coins, worth 'upwards' of pounds ten million, vanished after thieves broke into a display case in a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
The nine notes and ten coins, in British, American and French currency and dated between 1833 and 1910, were recovered from the wreck site of the sunken liner during a 1987 expedition which used deep-water submersibles to recover items from the seabed. The notes and coins were contained in a recovered Pursers Bag. Titanic sank on her maiden voyage in 1912 and lies in 12,500 feet of water.
Nashville police spokesman Sgt. John Patton said: "The coins and banknotes were in a locked display case in the lobby of a local hotel. They were part of a promotional display in advance of a major Titanic exhibit which opens here shortly. The thieves smashed open the locks in the dead of night and made off with the items. The biggest concern is that the notes are in protective casing and they could be destroyed if they are exposed to air."
Antique stores and pawn shops across the States have been warned to be on the lookout for the stolen currency. A source added: "These items could have been stolen to order by a rich collector. None of the items recovered from the Titanic wreck have ever been offered for sale. The only Titanic artifacts available to collectors are items from survivors or those things recovered from the surface of the water. These objects are from the seabed and that increases their value and their appeal to collectors considerably. They could easily be worth upwards of ten million pounds, perhaps more. It is impossible to put a price on them because nothing like this has ever been offered for sale on the open market."
The notes and coins were recovered from a purser's leather bag. Dik Barton, Vice President of RMS. Titanic, Inc. the company which owns salvage rights to the wreck and which is in control of exhibiting thousands of artifacts salvaged from the ship said: "Our goal is recovery. We are very distressed that someone would steal these fragile objects. These artifacts have been shown successfully around the world, and were part of a display at the National Maritime museum in Greenwich in 1994. They are a part of history."
A number of Pursers Bags were recovered during the Expedition, containing a unique and priceless selection of coins and bank notes representing currency from the period from all over the world, predominantly US, French and British currencies.
One bag contained over 340 assorted coins; Coins from the time of George V, Edward VII and Queen Victoria, Dollar coins and British Florins. Other bags contained a set of George V and Victoria coins, a complete set of 160 plus coins including British Florins, Pennies and French Napoleon francs. One bag in particular held more than 700 multi national bank notes.
The stolen coins included two US Silver 1890 and 1833 $1 Dollars, two Silver US 1910 and 1901 Quarters, three British One Shilling coins dated 1895, 1896 and 1907, and 5 French Franc 1833 coin. ENDS

If there any further details available please contact;

Dik Barton
Vice President (Operations)
RMS. Titanic, Inc.
3340 Peachtree Road NE
Suite 1225
Atlanta
Georgia 30305
Tel + 404 842 2600
Fax + 404 842 2626
WWW.rmstitanic.net

The Case Of The Stolen Duchamp

This could be one of the most bizarre events in the history of American museums. Yet the story was never fully explained by the authorities at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. No doubt, it was just too preposterous and humiliating for them to dwell on.
On a hot weekend in late August of 1995, an unknown young man of slightly disheveled appearance took the escalator up to the second floor of the Museum's galleries. He was perhaps an artist or a student. He would have walked past a historic selection of top Modernist artworks that are on permanent display: Van Gogh's "Starry Night," Picasso's "Desmoiselles d'Avignon," Dali's "Persistence of Memory," a Kandinsky, a Leger and the like.
Amongst them, out in the open, sat the famous Bicycle Wheel by Marcel Duchamp, attached to a white stool and perched on a low platform of its own. This version dates from 1951, a third copy based on the "lost original" from 1913. This one came close to being lost too.
The Wheel occupied a central gallery on MOMA's second floor, accessible only through a labyrinth of other rooms. No one will say whether the work was bolted to the platform or not, or how easy it was to yank off its perch. Suffice to say, when no one was looking, this is exactly what the young man did. He then shouldered the awkward bundle--a large bicycle wheel with attached stool--and set off through the second-floor rooms.
It's worth noting at this stage that he was not disguised as a workman or a security officer and must have stumbled past a number of surprised witnesses as he made his way out to the top of the escalator. He was not stopped then or at any point in the process by anyone, including several of the museum's security staff who monitor that area.
full story: http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/20/0620hot.html