How to protect your artworks as theft peaks
WHILE South Africa is among the highest-ranking crime spots in the world, art theft remains relatively low in the country.
It was only recently, during the national lockdown, that high profile art thefts were reportedly peaking, with insurers paying out millions of rand in claims in the past year.
In April, over 31 paintings valued at R500 000, were stolen during an art heist in Pretoria.
These masterpieces by renowned South African artists, including WH Coetzer, Ignatius Marx, Helene Kapp, Margaret Gradwell and Gerhard Smit, were being transported from Sandton Auctioneers to Pretoria art dealer Ben Keogh, when the robbery took place.
And while the vehicle was later recovered, the paintings disappeared.
Christelle Colman, managing director of Elite Risk Acceptances, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Insure, said an art theft investigative exposé zoomed in on how organised criminals were selling expensive artwork on the black market.
“Big ticket thefts make good headlines when in reality there are countless
artworks valued at between R5 000 and R100 000 reported damaged or stolen each year,” says Colman.
“Although this type of crime is not yet endemic in South Africa, it is something that high net worth individuals with global exposure and personal art collections should take note of.”
With the rise in art theft in South Africa, we look at the top five famous art theft cases in the world.
To date, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist remains the biggest
unsolved mystery, and the biggest art crime in the world.
Netflix even released a docu-series titled This is a Robbery: The World’s Greatest Art Heist, based on the events of March 18, 1990, when artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer and others were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Two men disguised as police officers managed to pull off what became the biggest robbery in the history of art crime. The case remains unsolved, the pictures and objects valued today at $500 million (about R7.3 billion) have not been recovered despite a $10m reward.
In April 1991, 20 paintings, estimated to be worth $500m, were stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, including Vincent Van Gogh’s The Potato Eaters. They were found shortly afterwards in an abandoned car not far from the crime scene.
In August 2003, thieves stole the Madonna of the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci at the Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland. The work, painted in the early 16th century, was valued at about $53m. It was recovered in Scotland four years later.
In February 2008, four oil paintings by Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Van Gogh and Claude Monet worth $164m were stolen from the Buehrle Collection in Zurich. The Monet and Van Gogh were found soon after, and the Cezanne in 2012, in Serbia.
In May 2010, five paintings worth $117.98m were stolen from the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. They included Picasso’s Dove with Green Peas, Henri Matisse’s Pastorale, Braque’s Olive tree near l'Estaque, Amedeo Modigliani’s Woman on the range and Fernand
Leger’s Still life with candlestick.
Colman shares top tips on how art collectors can protect their high value collectibles from “artjacking”.
Complete an inventory of your art assets and collectibles, or even better get a professional valuation done. Priceless collectibles can be hanging on walls of unsuspecting homeowners.
Perhaps the painting handed down by your grandmother turns out to be an early Battiss or Sekoto; you won’t know until you have it valued.
Individuals who have single high value art works or a collection of pieces should consider placing their contents insurance on cover with a specialist insurer who understands the unique risks associated with collectables, to avoid costly surprises at claims stage.
Ensure that each art collectible is correctly insured at insurance replacement value, and review this valuation frequently. Art prices tend to fluctuate widely based on their perceived collectability, the success or death of an artist and even exchange rate fluctuations.