Old Masters are still very popular.
Art theft at antique fair!
During the night between Saturday and Sunday a
burglar stole five paintings at the big antique fair in Älvsjö in
Security discovered the burglar at ca. 01.30 in the
morning and went after him through the main entrance of the fair and pursued
him towards a close-by train station.
Police dogs followed the trail to a car park within
the exhibition area, but as of Sunday the police did not have any clues as to
the identity of the burglar.
- Evidence points out that the burglar
had remained on the premises when the antique fair closed
for the day on Saturday, said Christer Sjöblom from the police authorities. He
also stated that they were not ruling out any theories. The security guards
were to be questioned during the day Sunday. There may possibly have been many
witnesses.
The five paintings were
stolen from a small room that was situated inside the art gallery “Åmells”
stand, just inside the entrance to the antique fair.
The art dealer Verner Åmell was informed about the
theft by telephone at 03.30 on Sunday morning.
The security guards were patrolling the area the entire evening but, as Mr. Åmell stated, the burglar could work inside the little room without notice or interruption.
The Breughel painting was kept behind glass in a wall cupboard, but Mr.
Åmell believes that it might have taken the burglar only a few minutes to
unbolt the paintings.
Åmell does not believe that the burglar had much
knowledge of art as apart from the Breughel he did not take the most valuable
paintings. Instead he took the smallest painting hanging close to the Breughel,
but most likely the thief recognised them being painted by Zorn and Liljefors
(very well known Swedish artists). Just outside the room was a painting by
Sigrid Hjertén prized at 125.316 EUR.
Mr Åmell supposes that somebody has ordered this
theft. There are maybe 15 to 20 paintings by Jan Breughel, the older in private
collections, it cannot be sold on the open
market.
-There is no reason to steal a painting like this if
you do not know what to do with it, says Mr. Åmell. There have been rumours
that there are many buyers in
The art gallery had a customer for the
”View over
We have been in business for over 85 years, spanning
three generations, and this is the first time we have been exposed to a theft
of any significance, says Mr. Åmell.
The Stockholm International Fairs, Managing Director,
Mr. Tom Beijer claims that it is up to the gallery to take the necessary
security precautions.
We only have a standard alarm system and security
guards, says Tom Beijer. I spoke with Mr. Åmell and by his judgement this
should have been sufficient security.
A national alert has been placed on the burglar, who kept the paintings
in a backpack when he disappeared.
The Breughel was painted on copperplate and is very fragile. If it is exposed to thrusts or vibrations, it is possible for flakes of paint to fall off.
The other paintings that were stolen are:
Bruno Liljefors “Winter hare”
sold at the fair for 8.420 EUR.
Akseli Gallen-Kallelas “One year old snow” sold for 31.580 EUR.
Anders Zorn “In mourning” priced at 36.840 EUR.
Marcus Larsson “Shipwreck in thunderstorm” priced at 10.000 EUR.
Akseli
Gallen-Kallelas “One year old snow”
Bruno
Liljefors “Winter hare”
Anders
Zorn “In mourning”
Jan
Breughel the older ” View over
Marcus Larsson “Shipwreck in thunderstorm”