Summary: The Renoir oil painting theft Sept. 8, 2011 in West Houston, Texas, is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation list of 10 top unsolved art theft crimes.
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| "Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen Thursday, Sep. 8, 2011, from West Houston, Texas, during an armed robbery: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via FBI |
An intruder asking a Houston homeowner for diamonds, money and Renoir's Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow with Flowers in Her Hair added up to a Renoir oil painting theft Sept. 8, 2011.
Little evidence from and no clues after the West Houston, Texas, break-in, with an estimated value of $1 million, baffled Houston Crime Stoppers and Houston police. Nonexistent leads and unexplained suspicions of border-crossings called for placement, at the bottom, on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of 10 top unsolved art thefts. Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2314 and 2315, describe FBI investigative responsibilities regarding foreign or interstate commerce-fenced or transported stolen goods minimally valued at $5,000.
Evidence- and lead-sharing arrangements exist through Peter Schneider's dual duties as Houston member of the FBI's violent crimes task force and as Houston Police Department Sergeant.
The art theft subdivision of the FBI's violent crimes division and the Houston Police Department furnished a description of the perpetrator based upon the homeowner's recollections.
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| The upscale neighborhood where the September 2011 Renoir oil painting theft occurred is located within the Uptown Houston area, which is centered on The Galleria, a posh, mixed-use urban development center; The Galleria's four-level shopping center includes Polar Ice, a 20,000-square-foot (1,900-square meter) skating rink (lower right), as seen Feb. 28, 2010, 17:10: Postoak, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons |
The art theft subdivision of the FBI's violent crimes division and the Houston Police Department furnished a description of the perpetrator based upon the homeowner's recollections.
The female homeowner of the upscale residence in the area of Woodway and Chimney Rock near Gallería gave a description of an 18- to 26-year-old male. The composite description has a light-complected youth measuring about 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 meters), wearing a ski mask and weighing approximately 160 pounds (72.58 kilograms). The home invasion involved brandishing an unfired large-caliber, semi-automatic handgun after forced, loud entry through a back door inspired the homeowner, watching television upstairs, to investigate.
The Houston Police Department judged the home invader's interaction with the homeowner suggestive of familiarity with her private art collection before the Renoir oil painting theft.
An armed, masked home invader who kept a private art collection intact, excepting a masterpiece in a stairwell, possibly knew already what a homeowner keeps where.
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| Tanglewood, the posh neighborhood in upscale Uptown Houston area that became an art theft crime scene, perpetrated by an armed robber, in September 2011: WhisperToMe, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
An armed, masked home invader who kept a private art collection intact, excepting a masterpiece in a stairwell, possibly knew already what a homeowner keeps where.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft in 1990 and the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals theft in 2002 left behind the frames of surreptitiously liberated artworks. Extracting and rolling up artworks means less burdened getaways even though the Tanglewood neighborhood perpetrator made off with the twentieth-century French Impressionist portrait in its frame. Recognizable framing narrows the portrait's chances of escaping notice since Katherine Cabaniss, executive director of Houston Crime Stoppers, notes: "It's a Renoir painting. It's highly recognizable."
The Renoir oil painting theft occasioned other perspectives contrary to Cabaniss's observation that "It's unusual to see a burglary in which such unique property is stolen."
Dr. Antonio Laro, United States authenticator of artworks, posited: "The reason they steal an original because with the original they can make a lot of copies."
Recovery of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's (Feb. 25, 1841-Dec. 3, 1919) 19.75- by 16.25-inch (50.17- by 41.28-centimeter) portrait from 1918 qualifies informants for a private insurer-offered $50,000 reward. The portrait remains a desirable acquisition because of Renoir's reputation among art collectors, art critics and art historians and because of Renoir's model, Andrée Madeleine Heuschling. Paintings show Madeleine (June 22, 1900-Sept. 28, 1979), his film director son Jean's (Sept. 15, 1894-Feb. 12, 1979) first wife, as one of Renoir's preferred models.
Recovery takes the Renoir oil painting theft casualty back to its private stairwell or, with the relocated collection, to the Vaughan Christopher Gallery on South Shepherd.
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| French film actress Catherine Hessling, ca. 1925: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's last model, Andrée Madeleine Heuschling, subsequently acted in films, under the name of Catherine Hessling, directed by her husband, the artist's second son, Jean: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Dr. Antonio Laro, United States authenticator of artworks, posited: "The reason they steal an original because with the original they can make a lot of copies."
Recovery of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's (Feb. 25, 1841-Dec. 3, 1919) 19.75- by 16.25-inch (50.17- by 41.28-centimeter) portrait from 1918 qualifies informants for a private insurer-offered $50,000 reward. The portrait remains a desirable acquisition because of Renoir's reputation among art collectors, art critics and art historians and because of Renoir's model, Andrée Madeleine Heuschling. Paintings show Madeleine (June 22, 1900-Sept. 28, 1979), his film director son Jean's (Sept. 15, 1894-Feb. 12, 1979) first wife, as one of Renoir's preferred models.
Recovery takes the Renoir oil painting theft casualty back to its private stairwell or, with the relocated collection, to the Vaughan Christopher Gallery on South Shepherd.
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| Within about a year of painting "Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair," Pierre-Auguste Renoir switched from artist to model to pose for "Portrait de Pierre-Auguste Renoir," 1919 oil on canvas by Marie-Félix Hippolyte-Lucas (Nov. 9, 1854-April 17, 1925): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.
Image credits:
Image credits:
"Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen Thursday, Sep. 8, 2011, from West Houston, Texas, during an armed robbery: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via FBI @ https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-top-ten-art-crime
The upscale neighborhood where the September 2011 Renoir oil painting theft occurred is located within the Uptown Houston area, which is centered on The Galleria, a posh, mixed-use urban development center; The Galleria's four-level shopping center includes Polar Ice, a 20,000-square-foot (1,900-square meter) skating rink (lower right), as seen Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, 17:10: Postoak, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GalleriaShops.jpg
Tanglewood, the posh neighborhood in upscale Uptown Houston area that became an art theft crime scene, perpetrated by an armed robber, in September 2011: WhisperToMe, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TanglewoodHoustonSign.JPG
French film actress Catherine Hessling, ca. 1925: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's last model, Andrée Madeleine Heuschling, subsequently acted in films, under the name of Catherine Hessling, directed by her husband, the artist's second son, Jean: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catherine_Hessling.jpg
Within about a year of painting "Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow With Flowers in Her Hair," Pierre-Auguste Renoir switched from artist to model to pose for "Portrait de Pierre-Auguste Renoir," 1919 oil on canvas by Marie-Félix Hippolyte-Lucas (Nov. 9, 1854-April 17, 1925): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Renoir_by_Marie-Félix_Hippolyte-Lucas.jpg
For further information:
For further information:
Hassan, Anita. 10 February 2012. "HPD Sergeant, ex-FBI Agent on the Trail of Stolen Renoir." Houston Chronicle > Local.
Available @ http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-sergeant-ex-FBI-agent-on-trail-of-stolen-3257419.php
Available @ http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-sergeant-ex-FBI-agent-on-trail-of-stolen-3257419.php
"Jurisdiction/Legislation." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > News > Most Wanted > Art Theft.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft
"Reward Offered for Stolen Renoir Painting." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > News > Stories > New Top Ten Art Crime > September 19, 2012.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-top-ten-art-crime
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-top-ten-art-crime
"Theft of Renoir Oil Painting." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > News > Most Wanted > 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-of-renoir-oil-painting
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/theft-of-renoir-oil-painting
Uchida, Adela. 21 September 2011. "Suspect Sought in Case of Stolen Renoir Painting." ABC 13 Eyewitness News.
Available @ http://abc13.com/archive/8362915/
Available @ http://abc13.com/archive/8362915/
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