ARTSY THIEFS

When was the Mona Lisa stolen? 10 incredible art heists

Image: Eric TERRADE

Despite the fact that stealing art is arguably just as bad as any common crime, art heists have always captivated the imagination of the public, and the complex feats of these sophisticated robbers are depicted in countless movies and books. These audacious crimes often involve meticulous planning, intricate schemes, and sometimes, even a dash of glamour.

From masterpieces swiped in seconds to robberies that still baffle authorities, here are 10 of the most sensational museum and artwork thefts that have captured the world's attention.

Image: Kameron Kincade

Who said pirates couldn’t be art lovers? The daring theft of Hans Memling’s "The Last Judgment" was the first art heist to be recorded in history, and it took place in the sea, of all places. The religious painting was aboard a ship bound for Florence, Italy, when it was boarded by a Polish privateer called Paul Beneke, who proceeded to steal the painting among other valuables. The best part is that the painting ended up being blatantly displayed in the Basilica of the Assumption in Gdańsk, despite Italy’s efforts to get it back.

Image: Michael Fousert

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is today the most famous painting in the world, so it's no surprise that it's been the target of theft. But in 1911 few people had heard of it, and the legendary painting was by no means as well guarded as now. When an Italian handyman was contracted by the museum he impulsively stole the masterpiece, hiding it in his apartment for over two years before it was recovered in Italy. Curiously, this theft was what actually made the painting world famous, so it wasn’t all bad in the end.

Image: George Ciobra

In 1961, Britain’s national hero went missing from the National Gallery in London, and authorities were baffled. The thief turned out to be a retired bus driver called Kempton Bunton, who climbed through a window of the National Gallery, grabbed the Duke, and proceeded to straightforwardly leave the premises with the painting under his arm. Maybe museum security measures weren’t exactly bulletproof back then.

Image: Hanyang Zhang

In one of the most infamous art heists in history, thieves disguised as police officers stormed Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, gagging the museum’s security guards and making off with 13 priceless artworks, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Degas. To this day, the pieces - valued at hundreds of millions of dollars - remain missing and the museum displays empty frames where the paintings used to be, in a haunting reminder of the unfortunate incident.

Image: Steven van Deursen

In 1994, two men broke into Oslo's National Gallery, making off with Edvard Munch's "The Scream." The thieves even mocked the museum’s anti-theft measures with a note that said: "Thanks for the poor security." While the painting was recovered later that year, that was not the last of the adventures of Munch’s iconic piece. Ten years later, in a brazen daylight robbery, armed thieves stormed Oslo's Munch Museum, snatching "The Scream" again together with "Madonna," another painting by the same artist. Again, the paintings were recovered but suffered some damage during the whole ordeal.

Image: Frans Ruiter

In 2002, during early morning hours, two thieves made use of a ladder to break into the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam through the roof. In a lightning-fast robbery, they stole two paintings and fled: Vincent van Gogh’s "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" and "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen," valued at $30 million dollars. Fortunately, both pieces were recovered in 2016, but the theft highlighted the vulnerability of even the most prestigious institutions.

Image: Meizhi Lang

In a bold overnight heist, a lone thief broke into Paris's Modern Art Museum and made off with five paintings worth an estimated €100 million. In a Hollywood-worthy move, the man entered the gallery by removing a glass pane without breaking it and still managed to elude the three guards on duty inside. The burglar, aptly nicknamed "Spiderman" for his acrobatic feats, was captured afterward, but the paintings were unfortunately never recovered.

Image: Diane Picchiottino

Seven artworks, including pieces by Picasso, Matisse, and Monet, were stolen from Rotterdam's Kunsthal Museum in a meticulously planned heist. The museum’s alarm system went off during the robbery, but the thieves escaped before the police arrived. The thieves were eventually caught, but the paintings are still missing - and authorities suspect they were destroyed by the mother of one of the thieves in an effort to protect her son.

Image: rc.xyz NFT gallery

While not focused on art, this audacious heist involved the theft of millions of pounds worth of jewels and other valuables from safe deposit boxes in London's Hatton Garden district. The theft was meticulously planned by a group of six elderly men - all experienced thieves - earning them the nickname of "Bad Grandpas." But it seems that crime never pays, as they were all quickly arrested afterward.

Image: Nodir Khalilov

In 2019, the Green Vault museum in Dresden suffered a devastating blow when thieves infiltrated its Jewel Room, making off with priceless jewels and artifacts dating back to the 18th century. The thieves not only disabled alarms and streetlights by burning down a power box but also had to cut through iron bars and a reinforced window to gain entry, showing that there was quite a bit of planning behind the theft. Despite a series of arrests being made in connection to the robbery, only a portion of the stolen items were recovered.

Potato, potahto

What does that mean? 10 terms unique to American English

English is the official language of more than 50 nations across the world, so it’s not surprising that English speakers from different parts of the world have developed dialectal variations with unique vocabulary. But, being English —especially American English— used as an international common language, one would think that American vocabulary would have spread to foreign English speakers. While it has in some cases, certain terms are still unique to American English. Let’s have a look at some of them!

This might be the best example of a uniquely American term, though it is technically derived from the original name of the sport. Internationally known as football, soccer was originally called ‘association football’ to distinguish it from ‘Gaelic football’. With time, the popularity of the sport became associated with the term football, except in the U.S., where Gridiron or American football was more popular. So, for Americans, American football became just ‘football’, and association football became ‘soccer’.

Eggs are an integral element of American diners, where a specific vocabulary was developed to quickly explain the type of egg desired in the least amount of time. Where other English speakers would simply ask for a fried egg, Americans know that there are several ways to fry an egg: over easy is just one of them.

Have you ever wondered why the U.S. has a Postal Service but not postal codes? It’s not that they don’t exist; they just have a different name. The ‘Zone Improvement Plan’, or ZIP, was created to make mail services more efficient, but nowadays it’s key for analyzing demographics, sales, and the types of data. While the name ‘Zone Improvement Plan’ might sound strange, it was chosen with the ZIP acronym in mind to suggest that mail would zip along using the system.

Whether you use condo to mean an owned apartment of any kind or as a certain type of building, both are terms mainly used in America. Other English speakers would just say flat or apartment, and would use the term commonhold (UK), strata (Australia and parts of Canada), or divided co-ownership (Francophone Canada) for a building with common areas and services.

Let’s address the obvious first: yes, bodega is a Spanish word. However, it has a unique meaning in American English. While for Spanish speakers it means a winery, in the U.S., it refers to a specific type of convenience store or deli, traditionally owned by Hispanics.

If you hear the word ‘silverware’ in the UK, it won’t mean what you think it means. Kind of. For Americans, the term ‘silverware’ encompasses all eating utensils, including forks, knives, spoons, and even chopsticks. Outside of the U.S., it is more common to say ‘cutlery’, while silverware is used for cutlery actually made from silver.

While words such as ‘university’ or ‘school’ are typical when discussing higher education, ‘college’ is the more commonly used term in the U.S., even present in the names of famous institutions. In other English variants, ‘college’ can be used to talk about trade schools, vocational training, or a university’s residential hall.

If we consider that Canadians also use the term ‘period’ for the punctuation mark, we could say that this term is uniquely North American, but it’s a term other English speakers commonly associate with the U.S. In other parts of the world, ‘full stop’ is the preferred name. What a mouthful!

Again, why do we have a Postal Service but prefer the term ‘mailman’? It’s just a matter of use. Originally, ‘post’ was used for domestic letters, while ‘mail’ was used for letters sent abroad. While the term ‘postal service’ is common to all English variants, mail and its derivatives, such as mailman, are now the norm in American English, while other English dialects tend to use post.

Although Canadians might sometimes use ‘nightstand’ to talk about this piece of furniture, outside of American English, it is common to use the term ‘bedside table’. Originally, the word nightstand implied a furniture piece with built-in storage, while a bedside table was simpler, but nowadays they are equivalent terms.