To celebrate Arts & Humanities Month, our Collection Services Librarian has written a series of book reviews of titles that take place in the art world.
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession – Michael Finkel (June 2023)
Hollywood often portrays art thieves as swanky criminals that steal valuable works with the intent to use the creations as collateral or to sell them elsewhere. However, this was not Stéphane Breitwieser’s goal when he stole the first piece of artwork for his collection—a centuries old flintlock pistol in a small French museum. And swanky is not the word to describe the awkward outsider. He simply wanted it. After that, Breitwieser was hooked.
Over 8 years, he used simple tools, the ability to blend into crowds, and his girlfriend, Anne-Catherine (his “magician’s assistant”) as lookout to steal over 300 objects in 200 heists in museums and Cathedrals all over Europe. Paintings (especially Dutch oil paintings), small objects, even large tapestries—nothing was safe from Breitwieser’s sticky fingers. The reader is sucked into their nail-biting experiences and even begins to believe that the Bonnie and Clyde of art thievery will get away with hoarding over $2 billion worth of art in Breitwieser’s mother’s attic. That is, until the reader learns that French and Swiss detectives were building a case.
Author Michael Finkel brilliantly shows the lonesome and odd art thief’s descent into madness as he set out to create “Alibaba’s cave”. The reader learns what happened to Breitwieser after he is caught—and the fate of the artworks. Alongside spending time with the infamous thief, author Michael Finkel uses statements from police, art historians, and brain scientists to create a portrait of this unusual criminal. The Art Thief is gripping, easy-to-read nonfiction for those who love art and a thrilling story.
Place a hold on The Art Thief: https://bit.ly/3F4p2bd
