Art Crime discussion

This is the place introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself.

I like all of your group rules, Llana. "use complete words"...I agree.

I'm Heather, thank you for the invite to the group! I think this is a fascinating subject. In the Art Lover's group, as you know, we have a thread for thefts and forgeries. Do you mind if I duplicate some of those posts here?

About me...I LOVE art! Relating to this particular group, I am amazed at the criminal mind. Why would anyone steal something so difficult to realize any monetary value? Where would you sell it without giving yourself away? Maybe I'm naive, but you can tell I don't have that criminal mind!

I heard of one man who stole paintings just to display them in his home. I think he got off with a little bit of mental derangement (those weren't the words), but they were saying he didn't really have an ulterior motive for his theft.

I have some interesting articles, I will find a place to post them...if that's ok.

Anything you would like to post is fine with me. If you want you can make any new topics or folders you like. And you just gave me an idea for a new topic.

Hello, My name is Anita Garcia I am a 20 years old woman who enjoys to read and do other activities that involves helping others. I am currently in School majoring in Liberal Studies at Bryan College. I can't wait to start reading your new book you recommended "The Forger's Spells: A True Story of Vermeer,Nazis,and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century". You have any suggestion as to where to I could order the book without paying to so much?

Hello Anita, Welcome to the group. I would suggest you look online at Barns & Noble or Amazon, they have good deals for used books. Also check out your local book store maybe it will be on sale or try the public library. What are you majoring in? Feel free to explore and leave any comments you may have.

You're welcome, I'm looking forward to discussing the books we read as a group. Good luck with your history degree.

Hi, I use the name Createjoy on Goodreads, although "m" is a nickname of mine.

I am interested in reading The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, and when I searched to see if there was any discussions on Gooddreads I found your group.

What an interesting group you have! I too have an interest in art, museums are a favorite outing of mine and I occasionally dabble as a hobbyist with oil and water color painting.

I look forward to the future of learning more about Art Crimes and sharing some reads with this group.

m

Hello Createjoy, Welcome to the group. It is small group and quiet but we are happy to have you.

Thank you, I just noticed your group has not read or discussed a book in a long time..... Sorry to see this, but I am very pleased to be able to view the previous postings, because I am seeing so many nice book selections I was never aware of, and know I too would enjoy reading.
Again thank you for the welcome.

I've been too busy with other projects to keep up here, I will respond to any comments or question you may have.

Hi everyone, my name is Michelle and I live in Southern California. I enjoy reading any book/genre that sparks my interest, but I really love books about art, whether about the artist themself or some other art historical aspect, fictional or non-fictional, and books about art crimes are usually the most fascinating. I hope to find other readers interested in art here, which will help me find new books to read, and new people to discuss them with!

Hello Michelle, welcome to our group. Be sure to check out the groups book shelf, there are plenty of choices on the read and to read shelves. Have fun.

createjoy wrote: "Hi, I use the name Createjoy on Goodreads, although "m" is a nickname of mine.

I am interested in reading [book:The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait o..."

What do people recommend. Read the book first or see the movie first?

Hi Alice, what movie are you referring too?

The Lady in Gold is the name of the movie. I have checked the book out from the library and they have the movie there too.

"createjoy wrote: "Hi, I use the name Createjoy on Goodreads, although "m" is a nickname of mine.
I am interested in reading The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Maste..."</i>

I really enjoyed Anne-Marie O'Connor's [book:The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer although it is more a history of the Bloch-Bauer family and Adele's niece Maria Bloch-Bauer Altmann's quest to recover the Klimt painting from an Austrian museum many years after World War II. You can read my book review at the book site.

I enjoyed several conversations with Anne-Marie especially when the movie appeared..."Woman in Gold" with Helen Mirren. The movie script was not written by O'Connor but rather by Alexi Kaye Campbell who also wrote a biography of Altmann's attorney. See my review of the movie at http://www.amazon.com/review/RF9YGI04...

Jane

Alice wrote: "The Lady in Gold is the name of the movie. I have checked the book out from the library and they have the movie there too."

The name of the movie, Alice, is "Woman in Gold." Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.

Anne-Marie O'Connor, who wrote the book "The Lady in Gold" did not write the screenplay for the movie.
Jane

Hi all, I'm Bette and I live on Vancouver Island and I am passionate about art. I love to look at it, talk about it and own it. I haven't read any books about art crime but since I enjoy art and like to read books on crime then "art crime" ought to be fascinating. I've ordered up your latest read from my library and since we have a few months to get through it, I ought to be able to get it done.

Is this group still active?

Sadly, Lance, I don't think so.

This is the FIRST response I've received in years. Too bad.

I would love if this would pick up again.

I would love that also.

Laura wrote: "I would love if this would pick up again."

Ilana wrote: "I would love that also."

Okay... so what kind of features do you think would draw more people and activity? It seems that this group could be an intersection between mystery fans and people who are interested in art.

Now, I also joined the Art Lovers group, mostly on the strength of its "Theft and Forgeries" section (which is a bit undercooked). Is it worth trying to revive this group to have a dedicated home for art crime books, or to migrate over to Art Lovers and try to beef up their art crime coverage?

I joined the other group & will take a look at their Theft & Forgeries section. We could all work on that together or stay here & try & kick start it up again. These are the only 2 groups that I think that I belong to. I would be game for either. The first one might be easier but I would stay & kick it up here with you 2 to get this going together if that's what you would rather do. I joined this group b/c I am really interested in this but haven't read any books on it. I have only read articles; mainly Vanity Fair & on online news articles but would love to read some good books on the subject.

Are you thinking fiction suspense regarding art like the Sylvian Renard series where in one art is stolen & the other the main character is an art restorer but finds more unknown artwork?

Anything to bring this place back to life would be welcome. I started out with the idea to keep this a non-fiction book but if you want to add in fiction as well, that's great. I stoped doing the monthly book pick because I was mostly the only one reading the book and it got lonely but I have a wonderfully long list of art theft non-fiction books to read. If you are interested we start the monthly book pick back up maybe? Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art has been on my reading list for quit awhile now.

I'd love it if this group was active. I have quite a list myself, but I'm always looking for more. I'm mostly interested in non-fiction art crime, but I did just find the first three books in the Alix London series by Charlotte & Aaron Elkins on sale last week. Hot Art looks good, I'm going to see if it's available at my library.

I read a lot of ebooks from the library as I read a lot. Just b/c I like to read. Neither of these selections are owned by my library but I will look for them at a used bookstore & online All of them sound great. Any other suggestions that I can look for at my library that you haven't read Ilanna. I see you have wanted to read this one since 2015. I will look for it.

Have you looked at the group bookshelf? I'm going to add a fiction shelf soon. There is a book Suggestions board for the group that might have some I haven't added yet. The first non-fiction book I read about art crime was Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, I really liked it.

Sorry. I just realized there was one & am going through it now to see what I can find, download or put on hold. Some are only in paperback & hardcover so I will make a list & look for them.

I just checked out the group bookshelf, and there are a number that are also on my own list to read, like The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War, The Thefts of the Mona Lisa, The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World's Greatest Works of Art, The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century, and The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. I really tried to get into The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, which is such a fascinating story; unfortunately, the author did this a disservice, as it is meandering, so I eventually gave up. The movie was equally disappointing, but I'm hoping The Venus Fixers: The Remarkable Story of the Allied Soldiers Who Saved Italy's Art During World War II will be a much better account of the same events.

As for Priceless mentioned above, I ended up removing it from my list because I read an excerpt a few years ago, and the author comes across as really arrogant, which I found to be a huge turn-off. If you're looking for an arrogant author, try The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief, which made much more sense that a thief would have a bloated sense of himself.

I'd also like to read The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller’s Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece, The Orpheus Clock: The Search for My Family’s Art Treasures Stolen by the Nazis, Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft, and the Quest for Justice, and Old Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures.

I haven't checked to see if any of these are available at my local library, but if we can maybe get this group going again, and put together a schedule, we'd all be able to locate the books. Ilana, I found that my library is able to borrow Hot Art from a partner library for me, so when were you thinking of beginning/finishing this one?

Btw, Laura, I read The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft a number of years ago, and it was pretty good, and I loved The Lost Painting, if you're looking for suggestions!

We could read Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art this month or next month? What ever is best for everyone. I can set up a poll for the book after, if that sounds good?

Ilana wrote: "We could read Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art this month or next month?"

I read and reviewed that some time ago, but don't let that stop you. I don't tend to participate in group reads because I have less time than I'd like for reading and and good deal of that is taken up with research reading.

I've added several books to the group bookshelf, as well as a "fiction" category.

It occurs to me that I haven't introduced myself properly. I've been on Goodreads since 2012-ish.

I've been an Air Force intelligence officer, information technology manager, computer-game artist, set designer and Jeopardy! contestant, and am now an emergency management specialist. I've had training in architectural rendering, terrorist incident response and maritime archaeology, but not all at the same time. I’m a frequent contributor to Macmillan’s Criminal Element website. My Facebook author page features spies, shipwrecks, archaeology and art crime.

I write a series of novels revolving around crimes against art. The first book, The Collection , is available pretty much everywhere; the second, Stealing Ghosts, is slated to release in the fall.

I would like to Welcome! all the new comers, also I would like to ask if anyone would be willing to be a co-moderator with me? As I have a very chaotic work schedule and am not always able to respond promptly.

Any suggestions for books to read?

Hi Ilana, my job is a bit chaotic as well, especially over the summer, and I'm not sure what being a co-moderator entails, but I'm willing to learn, and if we can tag-team this around our busy schedules, maybe we'll be able to get this group going. I also added a handful of books to the bookshelf that I'm interested in reading and thought others might be interested, too.

Hi, I am Laura. I took Economics & Fine Art at University. I haven't read much about Art Crime, though I do know some. If I can be of any help, let me know.

Thanks Michelle and Laura. A co-moderator entails helping answer peoples questions (especially when I disappear for days at a time) keep the flow of discussing going or start a topic.

Michelle-
If you would like I can enable you as a moderator but it is not necessary for what I need help with (keeping everyone talking). There is a few special things moderators can do i.e. delete or move threads and stuff like that.

If anyone else is interest let me know. Thanks!

Whatever you want to do is fine with me, Ilana. Summertime is a particularly busy time for me at work, but I will certainly do my best to help out here!

Just a little art news re; recovered Willem de Kooning painting that was stolen.

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sto...

Anyone home?

Yes, I am lurking. Sorry that I haven't contributed more but I do want to keep this group going because I am very interested in the topic as I am writing a book about art crimes. This book has just just been published about an art forgery trial that took place in Australia last year. https://www.mup.com.au/books/97805228...

I added Whiteley on Trial to the group bookshelf.

If you've written a review, please post a link to it in the "Book Suggestions" topic. Thanks!

I will review it once I've read it. I know about the book because I was watching the same art forgery trial as the author.