AUGUST 15, 1997
- Stolen Narwhal Tusk
- Banned Apartheid Painting Returned
- Police question suspect in Picasso theft
- Man gets 15 months in stolen art sting
- Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel
(Museum-L)
> From: "B. Scherting" <schertng@BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU>
> Organization: The University of Iowa
Subject: Stolen Narwhal Tusk
> Seeking advise regarding appropriate agencies to notify or alert to
> the theft of a 6' Narwhal tusk from the University of Iowa, Museum
> of Natural History, on 8/11/97. bruce-scherting@uiowa.edu
go to: http://museum-security.org and follow the Organizations link.
There you will find a number of organizations devoted to the recovery
of stolen cultural property. You are also invited to send information
about this theft to the Museum Security Mailinglist at:
securma@xs4all.nl or securma@museum-security.org
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Banned Apartheid Painting Returned
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) A painting depicting the crucifixion of a
black Christ that was banned in 1962 by the apartheid government and
smuggled abroad has been located and will be returned to South Africa.
The work an attack on apartheid called "Black Christ" shows Jesus with
the face of Chief Albert Luthuli, the outlawed African National
Congress president who was awarded the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize. He is
flanked by two Roman soldiers, one pushing a spear in his side, who
bear the faces of apartheid's architect, former Prime Minister Hendrik
F. Verwoerd, and his justice minister, John Vorster. "The symbolism
was of the crucifixion of the people of South Africa by the apartheid
regime, and how Christ identifies with all of the oppressed," the Rev.
David Bailey said Wednesday. Bailey is the parish priest at St. Luke's
Church in Salt River near Cape Town,where the painting was first
displayed in 1961. Soon after it was hung, the artist, Ronald
Harrison, was arrested and the painting was removed from the church
wall. It was later banned as sacrilegious, and displaying it became
illegal. Harrison arranged for it to be smuggled out of the country,
wrapped in linoleum and stowed on a cargo flight. The painting was
displayed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London by John Collins, a canon
and anti-apartheid activist at the church. It later passed into
private hands in England, where it was forgotten until the artist
tried to trace its whereabouts earlier this year. Anglican Church
officials are to decide where it will be displayed once it returns to
South Africa, spokesman Theo Coggin said Wednesday. He said Cape Town
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane is planning to assemble an
ecclesiastical museum at his official residence, Bishops Court, to
depict the role of the church in the struggle against apartheid. "His
personal view is that this would be a fitting place for the painting,"
Coggin said. Bailey said he would support displaying the painting in a
museum, but would like to have it in his church during St. Luke's
centenary celebrations in 1999. "As it was an important part of the
history of our parish, I would like to have it displayed then," Bailey
said.
(13 Aug 1997 18:30 EDT)
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via: http://www.artdaily.com/
Police question suspect in Picasso theft
London (EFE)
The British police reported yesterday that they had questioned a
suspect in connection with the theft of a Pablo Picasso painting from
a London gallery five months ago. The suspect, who was not identified,
was detained yesterday in Southampton, in the south of England, and
was interrogated about the artwork "Tete de Femme", which is valued at
650,000 pounds ($1,040,000 US) and was stolen from the Lefebvre
Gallery. The painting was recovered two weeks after the robbery when
the police arrested two people from London. At that time, the two were
detained and accused of conspiracy to steal artworks. "Tete de Femme"
was stolen by an armed individual who entered the London gallery and
then fled by taxi.
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Man gets 15 months in stolen art sting
Friday, August 15, 1997
By ADAM HARVEY (Sydney Morning Herald)
A panelbeater was sentenced to 15 months' jail yesterday over the
sale of 30 stolen Hans Heysen paintings and sketches to an undercover
policeman. Mark Anthony Middleton, 36, of Bayview, had pleaded guilty
in Manly Local Court to possessing artwork worth $396,000 stolen from
a gallery in Hahndorf, near Adelaide, two years ago. The paintings
vary in value between $1,800 and $60,000. Most of the artworks by the
acclaimed Australian landscape artist were on loan to the gallery
from the Heysen family. The magistrate, Mr Geoff Cleary, said the
offence was "probably the most serious property crime ever to have
been dealt with by a magistrate in a Local Court". Middleton told
police he found the paintings in a dead relative's shed, and did not
at first realise they were stolen. When he did discover their origin,
he decided to profit from the discovery, he told police. Middleton
met a prospective buyer at Milsons Point park, Strathfield railway
station and Ermington Shopping Centre during December last year.
Later that month, he sold the paintings for $46,000 to an undercover
policeman in a car park at Auburn. He was not arrested then because
of an ongoing police operation, and police later lost track of him.
However, in April this year, Middleton walked into Manly police
station. His solicitor told the court his client did not have the
$46,000 to repay the police but his business partner held him in such
high regard that he would help repay the money. Middleton has
appealed his sentence and was released on $20,000 bail to appear at
the Downing Centre on August 28.
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(ConsDisList)
From: Jane Long <jlong@nic.org>
Subject: Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel
The first 48 hours after a hurricane or flood can be critical in
saving collections. Now staff at museums, libraries and archives can
have authoritative, hands-on advice at their fingertips: the
Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel. The wheel, a user friendly
slide chart, provides quick access to essential information on
protecting and salvaging collections. It was developed by
conservation professionals and endorsed by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and seven other federal agencies and national
organizations. With funding from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, complimentary wheels were distributed in June to nearly
43,000 nonprofit cultural institutions. Additional wheels are now
available for purchase at $9.95 each, or at a nonprofit/government
rate of $5.95 each, including postage and handling. Reduced rates
for orders of 10 or more wheels are $8.45 or $4.95 for nonprofits. To
place an order or request an order form, call toll-free
1-888-979-2233, or write the National Task Force on Emergency
Response, 3299 K Street NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20007.
Inquiries can also be sent to info@nic.org Pam Chamberlain National
Task Force on Emergency Response c/o National Institute for the
Conservation of Cultural Property
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