Art heists are not new… The ones that get the most attention are the ones where millions of dollars worth of art is lost. Check out this article from Artinfo that highlights the top 5 art crimes of 2008.
What does seem to be new though, is this disturbing trend of art being jacked from galleries that WE frequent and of less “expensive” art. Artists we are all familiar with such as Yumiko Kayukawa, Luke Chueh, Sylvia Ji, Margaret Kilgallen, Barry McGee, Clare Rojas, and Lori Earley (twice) all had their art stolen this year. Hopefully, all the art was insured and the artists were compensated. We’re sure you have all seen galleries where because of where the staff is located or the layout, certain areas are highly vulnerable to theft. Maybe galleries will begin to explore ways to secure paintings on walls, alarms, or sensors in 2009 and we won’t hear as many of these headlines this year…
