Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch's The Scream were both stolen in the past. The Mona Lisa was taken from the Louvre Museum in 1911, while The Scream was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004. Both works were eventually recovered, but art theft continues to this day. According to Interpol, approximately 23,000 pieces of art and cultural property were stolen across 74 countries in 2021.
Recently, Octave Durham, a former thief who stole Van Gogh paintings, gave an interview. In 2002, he stole two valuable works from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Durham said he got the idea while walking past the museum window and spent about two years planning the crime. On the day of the theft, he listened to police radio communications. He used a ladder to break the glass and then entered inside. He hadn’t decided which paintings to steal, so he chose works that could fit through the hole he made in the window.
Although Durham already had money from bank robberies and did not need to steal the paintings, he said he attempted the theft simply because he had the chance. He later sold the stolen paintings to the Italian mafia.
Now, Durham works with art detectives to help recover stolen masterpieces.
Viewer Comments:
He was already rich from bank robberies? This guy was born to be a thief…
Maybe it was easier to steal art back then, but it still sounds surprisingly simple.
I’m curious how he eventually got caught.
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