New South Wales Art Gallery van Mieris Art Theft June 10, 2007

Summary: The New South Wales Art Gallery van Mieris art theft June 10, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, gets pocket-sized, screwed-in artwork despite crowds and guards.

A Cavalier (Self Portrait), 1657-1659 oil on wood panel portrait by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans van Mieris the Elder; removed from Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) during art theft of June 10, 2007: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The New South Wales Art Gallery van Mieris art theft June 10, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, appears on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of the FBI's top 10 unsolved art crimes.

Removal between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time (12:00 and 14:30, June 9, 2007, Greenwich Mean Time) belongs among the most daring crimes. Gallery records and police reports cast no light on suspects because of the display room's lack of closed circuit security cameras on A Cavalier (Self Portrait). They also depict the challenges of Sunday's huge crowds, estimated at 6,000, for the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) at Sydney's 84.02-acre (34-hectare) Domain.

Extraction of the 7.87-inch- (20-centimeter-) high, 6.29-inch- (16-centimeter-) wide oil on oak panel emerges as a crime before unaware witnesses, during viewing hours, with specialized equipment.

Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), scene of van Mieris daytime-art theft, June 10, 2007: Nicomède, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Joanna Mendelssohn, Associate Professor in the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales, fears that "the AGNSW one was an opportunistic theft." She gives easy recovery of the $1.4 million-insured, $1.9 million-valued painting little chance since "If it was opportunistic, it would be hard to dispose/return the work."

Vicki Oliveri of James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, heads toward a pre-planned New South Wales Art Gallery van Mieris art theft because of specialist tools. Andrew Taylor of The Sydney Morning Herald identifies intermittent guards and non-existent surveillance of a pocket-sized painting "screwed to the wall with two visible keyhole plates."

The Rocks Local Area Command Acting Police Superintendent Simon Hardman judges that, consistent with pre-planned scenarios, "The artwork was expertly removed from the art gallery wall."

Art Gallery of New South Wales (upper left) is sited northeast of St. Mary's Basilica (center right) in The Domain, 34 hectares (84 acres) of open space on the eastern edge of Sydney's central business district; Dec. 10, 2010: Diego Delso, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nobody knows the motivations for keeping A Cavalier (Self Portrait) from 1657 to 1659 by Frans van Mieris the Elder (April 16, 1635-March 12, 1681) missing.

Acting Sergeant Chris Nash of the New South Wales police leans toward a likelihood that "the artwork may have been sold to a black market investor." He mentions that "It is believed the [New South Wales Art Gallery van Mieris art theft] artwork may have been smuggled outside the country" after 2012. FBI Special Agent Robert Goldman and FBI Art Theft Program Manager Bonnie Magness-Gardiner respectively note 10 percent recovery chances and "the international dimension of art crime."

Lynda Albertson of Rome's Association for Research into Crimes Against Art likewise observes, "The world is full of art lovers with rich tastes and richer pocketbooks."

Art Gallery of New South Wales (center) is located in The Domain, southeast of The Royal Botanic Gardens (center left), west of Sydney's harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Woolloomooloo and northeast of St. Mary's Basilica (lower right); aerial view, looking northeast, from Sydney's financial district, July 2003: Ester Inbar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The oak panel's frame pushes the total dimensions of the portrait of the fair-eyed, fair-skinned cavalier to 11.69 inches (297 millimeters) by 16.54 inches (420 millimeters).

The jewel-like sheen of the portrayed cavalier's feathered hat, frilled sleeves and sword hilt qualify as faithful indicators of the genre and portrait painter's family business. Dutch genealogical and historical records reveal the occupation of the painter's father, Jan Bastiaans van Mieris, to be as carver of rubies, diamond setter and goldsmith. The same influences sculpt the companion portrait, Young Woman with Feather Fan Prepared to Go Out, of the artist's wife, Cunera van der Cock (1629/1630-1700).

The New South Wales van Mieris art theft takes Frans van Mieris's auto-portrait from public view but no closer to its companion portrait in Basel, Switzerland.

"Young Woman With Feather Fan Prepared to Go Out," companion portrait of "A Cavalier (Self Portrait)," portrays Cunera van der Cock, Frans van Mieris's wife, and safely hangs in Kunstmuseum Basel, northwestern Switzerland: Public Domain, via The Athenaeum

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"A Cavalier (Self Portrait)," oil on wood panel portrait by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans van Mieris the Elder; removed from Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) during art theft of June 10, 2007: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frans-van-mieris-thecavalier.jpg

Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), scene of van Mieris daytime-art theft, June 10, 2007: Nicomède, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArtGalleryOfNewSouthWales.jpg

Art Gallery of New South Wales (upper left) is sited northeast of St. Mary's Basilica (center right) in The Domain, 34 hectares (84 acres) of open space on the eastern edge of Sydney's central business district; Dec. 10, 2010: Diego Delso, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%ADdney-Australia43.JPG

Art Gallery of New South Wales (center) is located in The Domain, southeast of Sydney Harbour's Royal Botanic Gardens (center left), west of Sydney's harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Woolloomooloo and northeast of St. Mary's Basilica (lower right); aerial view from Sydney's financial district, July 2003: Ester Inbar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SydneyBay1_ST_03.jpg

"Young Woman With Feather Fan Prepared to Go Out," companion portrait of "A Cavalier (Self Portrait)," portrays Cunera van der Cock, Frans van Mieris's wife, and safely hangs in Kunstmuseum Basel, northwestern Switzerland: Public Domain, via The Athenaeum @ http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=263946

For further information:

Amore, Anthony; and Oliveri, Vicki. Stolen Cavalier: Dedicated to Recovering a Cavalier by Frans van Mieris Through Crowd-Sourcing Information. Blog at WordPress.com.
Available @ https://stolencavalier.wordpress.com/

"Frans van Mieris Leiden 1635 - 1681 Leiden. Zum Ausgehen bereite junge Dame mit Federfächer, um 1657/1659." Kunstmuseum Basel > Werker > Künstler. Available @ http://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=2916&view

Hollington, Kris. 22 July 2014. "After Drugs and Guns, Art Theft Is the Biggest Criminal Enterprise in the World." News Week > Culture.
Available @ http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/18/after-drugs-and-guns-art-theft-biggest-criminal-enterprise-world-260386.html

Miess, Michael. 11 March 2014. "Frans van Mieris: A Cavalier (Self Portrait)." ArtRobberies.com > 32 Art Theft Stories.
Available @ http://www.artrobberies.com/32-art-theft-stories/frans-van-mieris-a-cavalier-self-portrait

Oliveri, Vicki. 2014. "A Tale of Two Cities, A Tale of Two Art Thefts." Pp. 37-56. In: Contemporary Perspectives on the Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Art Crime: Australasian, European and North American Perspectives. Edited by Duncan Chappell and Saskia Hufnagel. Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom; and Burlington VT: Ashgate Publishing.
Available @ https://books.google.com/books?id=TCgpDAAAQBAJ

Rykner, Didier. 15 June 2007. "Theft of a Painting by Frans van Mieris from The Art Gallery of New South Wales." The Art Tribune.com > The News.
Available @ http://www.thearttribune.com/Theft-of-a-painting-by-Frans-van.html

Sullivan, Rohan. 14 June 2007. "Van Mieris' A Cavalier Stolen from Australian Gallery." Houston Chronicle.com > A&E > Entertainment.
Available @ http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Van-Mieris-A-Cavalier-stolen-from-Australian-1802039.php

Taylor, Andrew. 20 May 2012. "Search for Stolen Masterpiece Ends." The Sydney Morning Herald > Entertainment > Art.
Available @ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/search-for-stolen-masterpiece-ends-20120519-1yxis.html

Taylor, Andrew. 6 June 2015. "A Cavalier Approach: Investigation of Art Gallery of NSW's Stolen Painting Mishandled." The Sydney Morning Herald > Entertainment > Art.
Available @ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/a-cavalier-approach-investigation-of-art-gallery-of-nsws-stolen-painting-mishandled-20150608-ghi4e1.html

"Theft from Gallery of New South Wales." Federal Bureau of Investigation > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > Art Theft > FBI Top Ten Art Crimes Art Crime Team.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/theft-from-art-gallery-of-new-south-wales