Almost 35 years ago in Glasgow, a band of thieves broke into Haggs Castle Museum of Childhood and stole a treasure trove of artworks that were never seen again. A single painting from the daring heist has now mysteriously reappeared at an auction.
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A painting by the Dutch seventeenth-century artist Rembrandt van Rijn is heading to auction this December and could make in the region of £15 million. The Adoration of the Kings was the subject of an extensive research project at Sotheby’s over the past 18 months after it was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in 2021 as ‘Circle of Rembrandt’, where it carried a substantially lower estimate of only €10,000-15,000. This new research has led specialists to conclude that the painting was in fact by the artist himself and therefore worth considerably more money.
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A bidding war between reality-star Kim Kardashian and retired American football player Tom Brady broke out at a charity auction over a $2 million (£1.6 million) painting by George Condo. The high-stakes auction and celebrity blackjack tournament raised a total of $24 million (£19.8 million) for Reform Alliance, an organisation that advocates for criminal-justice reform in the US.
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A bronze statue of the Buddha, valued at $1.5 million (£1.24 million), has been stolen from the Barakat Gallery in Los Angeles. Authorities believe the heist was pulled off by a single thief, who managed to transport the 250-pound sculpture through the gallery’s garden before escaping.
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A German court has sentenced a former technician at the Deutsches Museum in Munich to prison for stealing and selling artwork to fund his lavish lifestyle. The unnamed man, now aged 30, used the money from the audacious thefts to pay off debts as well as buy a new apartment, expensive watches, and a Rolls Royce.
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The Metropolitan Museum in New York has announced that the ownership of two objects in their collection is being transferred to the Republic of Yemen. In what has been described as a “custodial agreement”, the objects will remain on loan to the Met, given the civil war in Yemen.
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US authorities have returned seven artworks by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele (1890-1918) to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum (1880-1941), a Jewish cabaret performer and art collector who was murdered by the Nazis. Seized from collections throughout the US, the works are collectively valued at nearly $10 million (£8.2 million).
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UNESCO has reiterated its request for the UK government “not to proceed” with a controversial redevelopment of Stonhenge in Wiltshire. The recently approved scheme will build a dual-carriageway tunnel close to the prehistoric monument, which was constructed between 3000 BC and 2000 BC.
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The much-anticipated sale of the collection of the lead vocalist and pianist of Queen, Freddie Mercury, had a hugely exciting first night, with the ‘white-glove’ sale bringing in a total of £12.2 million against a presale estimate of £4.8-7.2 million. The collection comes from Mercury’s Kensington home, Garden Lodge, which he left to his ex-partner and long-term friend Mary Austin after his death in 1991. Over the next few days, there will be a total of 6 sales of Mercury’s personal effects.
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A painting by the celebrated Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, which was stolen in 2020 from the Singer Laren Museum in Amsterdam, was returned last week in an Ikea bag. Art detective Arthur Brand – dubbed the “Indiana Jones of the art world” – played an instrumental role in its return.
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