The Art Thief

Summary:

The fascinating story of the most prolific art thief of all time and how he was able to steal over 250 high value art works in broad daylight from museums, auctions, galleries, churches, and more before getting caught.

Review:

I heard about this book on Ryan Holiday’s YouTube Channel. He recommends it to most readers he speaks to on his book recommendation series.

I read this in a day. It was a gripping narrative about a young couple who stole priceless art work three out of four weekends a month for years without getting caught. They didn’t sell the art, like most art thieves do, they collected it and horded it in their attic apartment above his mother’s home.

The author was able to meet the thief years after the spree and after he’d served multiple prison sentences for a first hand account, even traveling back to many of the museums he stole from to walk through them and replay how the theft went.

The story is crazy. First of all, the fact that Europe has so many museums with low security allowed him to perform these acts in broad daylight. It’s also clear that he has immense skill in working under pressure and stealing without being noticed.

As terrible as his acts were, you can’t help but root for him near the end, hoping that he will have turned the corner and learned from his lesson, like any good redemption story. After reading the ending, I have a feeling he has compulsion issues and struggles with self-control, not to mention some unresolved trauma.

The other crazy fact was how little jail time he did for stealing so much art. Just four years was his sentence, even though he stole from several countries and well over 250 pieces. Apparently the fact that it wasn’t armed robbery made his sentence lighter.

The book is well-written and enjoyable to read. I’d recommend it if you like memoir style books.