Another Daytime Heist Shakes the Art World, This Time in Brazil

News Louvre Reopens After Crown Jewel Theft Rachel Kubrick

São Paulo’s Mário de Andrade library now has 13 fewer artworks in its holdings following an armed robbery that took place on Sunday morning. Eight works on paper by Henri Matisse were stolen, as well as five works by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari.

The pair were reportedly armed, although no shots were fired. They entered the library via its main entrance, breaking a glass case and removing the Matisse pieces from a wall display, and escaping with the artworks in a large canvas bag through the same entrance. Additional CCTV footage shows the suspects carrying several of the framed works by hand in a street a few blocks away.

The getaway car has since been recovered, and one suspect was arrested on Monday, while the other remains at large. The prints have yet to be recovered, although Interpol is working to prevent them from leaving Brazil.

The theft shares some striking similarities to the Louvre heist that captured global media attention less than two months ago, with the two thieves surprising visitors and security in broad daylight. It occurred on the final day of the Do livro ao museu (From the Book to the Museum) exhibition, a display of mid-century works on paper from the library’s collection, as well as that of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo.

The stolen Matisse works come from the artist’s 1947 Jazz album, encompassing 20 stencils on paper. There are a total of 350 editions of the series between portfolio and folded versions. The library has yet to reveal the value of the stolen works; a complete set of Jazz was sold at Christie’s in New York for $504,000 (including fees) this past April.

The Portinari works included his woodcut illustrations from the 1959 edition of José Lins do Rego Cavalcanti’s novel Menino de engenho (Plantation Boy). Portinari, who died in 1962, is regarded as one of Brazil’s most prominent modernists, well known for his neo-realist paintings, including the Guerra e Paz (War and Peace) (1952–1956) murals at the United Nations headquarters in New York. —[O]

Main image: Henri Matisse, Jazz (álbum) (1947) (detail). Publicado por Éditions Tériade (Paris). Collection Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, São Paulo. Photo: Ding Musa.