We often think of art thefts as complicated, risky schemes that require months of planning and a team of capable veterans. Whether disabling security cameras or engaging in acrobatics to avoid motion detectors, we’d like to think every time a lucrative painting is stolen the specifics could have been in a movie, but at least in this case, what happened couldn’t have been further from that glorification.
Earlier this week, a man walked into the Venus Over Manhattan gallery and asked to see the “Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio”. The work was painted in 1949 by Salvador Dali and is valued at $150,000. The mystery guy was led to the proper room and then inexplicably left alone, I guess to admire the painting’s beauty. Unfortunately, he did more than admire it. He reportedly took it off the wall, slid it into a shopping bag and promptly left before anyone realized what the hell happened.
According to CNN, authorities have gotten a look at the surveillance footage, and all they can say for sure is that the low-tech art thief is thin and bald. That means, without providing an alibi, police will not be able to rule out Stanley Tucci or James Carville. They better lawyer up quick.
Given their rarity, high profile paintings have a tendency to resurface within a few years. We’ll keep you updated if that happens. Until then, if you own an art gallery, make sure not to leave strange men with shopping bags alone.
