September 28, 1999

CONTENTS:

Stolen Public Art

Newton's library sold to US in secret deal

STOLEN' ART WORKS UP FOR SALE

An art collection once stolen by one of Ireland's most notorious criminals is to be auctioned in Dublin next month. Among works going under the hammer will be Old Masters stolen by Martin Cahill, the man known as the General in Dublin's underworld, who was shot dead after crossing the IRA days before they began a ceasefire in 1994. They were the property of Alice Murnaghan, the widow of an Irish Supreme Court judge, who died earlier this year, aged 103. Mrs Murnaghan was 92 when Cahill struck at her central Dublin Georgian terraced home. He kept her and a housekeeper companion captive overnight while his gang took 50 paintings, jewellery and other art objects. The property, thought to have been stolen on behalf of a London-based criminal figure by Cahill, was all later recovered by police and returned to Mrs Murnaghan. Now the 470-lot sale is expected to fetch more than IRPound. 1.5 million when it is sold by joint auctioneers Mealy's and Christie's in Dublin on October 14. Cahill's life story has twice been filmed since his violent death - he was shot dead at the wheel of his car close to one of his Dublin houses. Apart from the Murnaghan robbery, he was well known for a series of other crimes, including a 1986 raid on an art collection at the Co Wicklow home of the late Sir Alfred Beit.

Security Guidelines

Windsor Castle Fire Contained

War and growth of tourism are biggest threats to historic sites

WAR, the pressures of tourism and Russian corruption are the most serious problems facing the world's greatest buildings and historic sites, according to a report published today. The World Monuments Fund's list of the 100 most endangered sites ranges from prehistoric rock carvings in Niger to a visionary arts school in Cuba built in the Sixties. Although the report was completed too early to include buildings damaged in the latest conflict in Kosovo and Serbia, the scale of devastation caused by earlier wars in Croatia, Bosnia and elsewhere in the world is clear. Among the buildings listed is the once-graceful 16th-century Ottoman bridge at Mostar in Bosnia, the destruction of which symbolised the deliberate targeting of cultural symbols during the war. The World Monuments Fund, in co-operation with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Unesco, is working on a complete reconstruction plan for the bridge. The report also shows how the pressures of tourism may be less dramatic but can be equally damaging. Until 1997 two lifesized carvings of giraffes dating from the sixth millennium BC on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Sahara were known only to the indigenous Tuareg people and a handful of European travellers. Widespread publicity since then means that the site is already threatened by uncontrolled visiting, despite its remoteness. In Russia, the scale of the problem means that seven sites have been included. Effective conservation is being impeded by outside cynicism about widespread corruption in the country. Colin Amery, director of the World Monuments Fund in London, said: "People almost laugh at the idea of investing in the country. There's a real atmosphere of distrust about giving funds to Russia." But according to Mr Amery, well-directed conservation in Russia can be effective: "You can do a lot in Russia really quite cheaply if you can manage it well." Several sites elsewhere in the former Soviet Union are also listed. Compared with the almost overwhelming problems faced by some countries, the United Kingdom has little excuse for its buildings being included on the list, but Mr Amery emphasises that there is no room for complacency. He cites Alexander "Greek" Thomson's magnificent St Vincent Street church in Glasgow, which was highlighted in the last report two years ago. As a result a $50,000 (UKP.30,000) grant was offered by American Express. But this has yet to be taken up and the building is still decaying. The list illustrates the remarkable pair of 13th-century barns at Faversham, Kent, owned by Wadham College, Oxford, and E W Pugin's impressive Victorian church of St Francis in Manchester. Both have been empty and unused since the Eighties and are suffering heavily from vandalism. But Britain is not alone among prosperous Western European countries in neglecting its built heritage. In France, Beauvais Cathedral, one of the masterpieces of Gothic architecture, is dangerously unstable. It is held up by a temporary tie and braces system, but this may be threatening the stability of the building. However, the report also shows how much has been achieved by the World Monuments Fund since the last list was published. This owes much to its ability to match any non-American donation dollar for dollar through the $10 million Wilson Challenge Fund. It has given grants to 60 sites in 37 countries. The results include the restoration of Brancusi's "Endless Column" in Targu Jiu in Romania and the repair of half the roof of the Alexander Palace in St Petersburg, the last home of the Tsars, which is now open to the public for the first time. Mr Amery said: "The problems are infinite but like all great heritage problems you need to start by nibbling at the edges."
(Daily Telegraph London, September 28, 1999)

Beetles Destroy Gallery Carpet

The race for riches; Under the sea, treasure hunters and scientists battle for history's bounty

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