Museum Heists: A Look at Some of the Biggest Art Thefts

Museums are supposed to be safe places for art. But sometimes, thieves find a way in. Here are some of the biggest art heists from museums around the world. In August 2023, the British Museum in London had a big problem. Over time, thieves had stolen about 2, 000 artifacts. This included gold jewelry and gems. The museum said it was an "inside job. " That means someone who worked there might have helped the thieves. In August 2020, thieves struck again. This time, it was the Hofje van Mevrouw Van Aerden museum near Utrecht in the Netherlands. The museum was closed because of the COVID pandemic. Thieves broke in through a back door and stole a painting called "Two Laughing Boys" by Frans Hals. The painting is worth about 15 million euros. It had been stolen before, but this was the third time. In March 2020, another painting was stolen. This time, it was Van Gogh's "Spring Garden" from the Singer Laren Museum in Amsterdam. The museum was also closed because of the pandemic. The painting was on loan from another museum. It was stolen overnight. In November 2019, thieves broke into the Gruenes Gewoelbe museum in Dresden, Germany. They stole pieces that had more than 4, 300 diamonds. The diamonds were worth over 113 million euros. Most of the jewels were found later. In May 2015, five paintings by Francis Bacon were stolen from a house in Madrid. The paintings were worth $25 million. Three of them were found two years later. In October 2012, thieves stole seven paintings from Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum. The paintings were by famous artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Monet. They were worth tens of millions of euros. A Romanian man and his accomplices were caught and convicted in 2013. These are just a few examples of art thefts from museums. It shows that even the most secure places can be targeted by thieves. It also shows that art is valuable, and people will go to great lengths to steal it.