Seven paintings worth millions of dollars, including works by Pablo Picasso, Lucien Freud and Henri Matisse, were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands early Tuesday morning at around 3am local time.
An empty spot on the wall marks the place where the stolen Henri Mattise painting was in Rotterdam’s Kunsthal art gallery in the Netherlands October 16, 2012. According to local media, several important works of art of considerable value have been stolen from the gallery in an overnight burglary. Among them were works taken while on display at the Avant-Gardes show featuring paintings from the Triton Foundation collection. A local television station reports that the “Reading Girl” by Henri Matisse was among the paintings stolen. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen (NETHERLANDS – Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY)
Seven paintings worth millions of dollars, including works by Pablo Picasso, Lucien Freud and Henri Matisse, were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands early Tuesday morning at around 3am local time.
The works of art were on loan to the museum from the private Triton Foundation, owned by multimillionaire Willem Cordia, an investor and businessman. The 150-plus paintings are part of an exhibition celebrating Kunsthal Rotterdam’s 20th anniversary. It is the first time that the avant-garde works, which span several Western artistic movements, have been shown to the public.
The stolen paintings are:
The museum, which will be closed today on account of the ongoing investigation, has announced that “no further statements will be made until further notice.”
The exhibition, which opened on October 7, is slated to run until January 20, 2013.