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From:          "Museum Security Network" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:          Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:18:12 +0000
Subject:       armed robbery York museum: additional information
Reply-to:      [log in to unmask]
Priority:      normal

Gallery gang steals Turner in UKP:1m art raid
by Mark Macaskill

PAINTINGS valued at more than UKP:1m have been stolen from a British
art gallery by armed robbers. Twenty works, including an 1820s
watercolour by Turner and two paintings by Walter Sickert, are
believed to have been "stolen to order". Police fear they could be
destined for Europe as part of the trade in stolen artefacts.

The paintings, some loaned from private collectors, were stolen from
the City Art Gallery in York on Fridaynight after closing time by
two men wearing ski masks and armed with a sawn-off shotgun and a
pistol. After binding and gagging four members of staff, the thieves
cut the canvases from their frames.

Richard Green, curator of the gallery, said: "I am absolutely
devastated. In one fell swoop, our collection has suffered a major
dent. The works are of immense public interest and incredibly
important to us. I hope they can be recovered."

Among the works taken were Turner's watercolour of Rievaulx Abbey, in
Yorkshire, which was protected by a 4in glass security case; two
14th-century gold panels featuring St Peter and St Paul by Martino Di
Bartolommeo; and two early 20th-century paintings by Sickert, one of
the Camden Town group of painters. Only the Turner, estimated to be
worth UKP:400,000, was believed to be insured.

The thieves attempted to take other works of art, including a
valuable Italian panel painting which was split in two as they tried
to remove it from its fixings. The remnants were left behind.
Police said that the men had carefully picked their targets as only
the smaller paintings were stolen and many larger works left lying on
the floor. Yesterday they said they feared the works could already be
out of the country.

Professor Brandon Taylor, of the Faculty of Art at Southampton
University, said: "This is a very worrying theft. The pieces that have
been stolen, in particular the Turner and the two by Sickert, are some
of the finest works of the modern period. My main fear is that if they
reach the Far East or Asia, as most of these stolen artefacts do, they
may never be traced. This also highlights the need for provincial
galleries to be more vigilant."

The York gallery opened in 1879 and has one of the best provincial
collections in the country. It is renowned for the breadth and quality
of its European art collection, with works ranging from 14th-century
Italian gold panels to the Turner. The last theft at the gallery was
20 years ago.

The haul is the latest in a string of thefts from art galleries and
private homes. Last year an international police hunt was launched
after two priceless masterpieces - a Van Gogh and a Cézanne - were
stolen from a museum in Rome. More recently, it was revealed that
paintings worth UKP:1m had mysteriously vanished from a private club
in London.

Britain is believed to have the world's largest trade in antiques,
paintings and other works of art and is also at the centre of a global
industry in stolen artefacts.

The scale of thefts in the art world is reflected by the catalogues
of stolen works maintained by the Art Loss Register, based in London,
which has logged thefts totalling more than UKP:1 billion - itself
likely to be a fraction of the total.

Last year a national network was set up of police officers
specialising in art and antique thefts to combat annual losses of
UKP:500m in stolen paintings, furniture and jewellery.
However, jail is unlikely to deter those responsible. According to
recent reports, thieves educate themselves on the subject in prison.
In many jails the BBC's Antiques Roadshow is one of the most popular
television programmes.

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