Unlike other countries, she said Canada doesn't have a dedicated task force - such as the FBI's art crime unit - focused solely on finding stolen art.Īmericans and other countries take this seriously because we now know that art theft and cultural heritage theft is funding terrorism, she told CBC Radio's All In A Day (new window).Ĭanada also doesn't keep statistics on what kind of art is stolen, how often and who is targeted, all of which could help identify trends and help prevent future thefts, Czegledi said. It's a common type of theft, and he said he's worked a number of other Canadian cases in the past year alone.īut just how common is hard to say, according to international art and cultural heritage lawyer Bonnie Czegledi. Stolen art recovered less than 5 per cent of the timeĪrt Recovery International is brought into many investigations after police have finished theirs, often by an insurance company, but less than 5 per cent of stolen art is ever returned, Marinello said. I mean, I've worked on cases where $6-million paintings were reduced to $1 million because they rolled it the wrong way. I would never say that stealing something is going to increase in value because criminals are horrid with artworks. While the theft of the Mona Lisa increased its reputation, it didn't go beyond that, he said. Marinello also balked at the idea that stealing art can increase its value. He suggested it might be worth more than $100,000. Karsh and his first wife lived at the Château Laurier for 18 years and his studio was housed there until 1992, a connection that makes the hotel's print of The Roaring Lion portrait more valuable, Marinello said. Photo: Submitted by Christopher Marinello Instead, they should be understood as simply having done their research on the value of the print.Īnother print of the Churchill portrait sold two years ago at Sotheby's for $81,000, Marinello said, and it doesn't boast the same history as the hotel print.Ĭhristopher Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International, said he took on a number of stolen art cases in Canada in the past year. Marinello said it's also wrong to imagine the thief as a lover of Winston Churchill or portrait photography. They are taking away artwork that belongs to all of us to enjoy. I treat art criminals as common thugs, as heartless, faceless, evil criminals just looking to make money at the expense of all of us, he said. It's not romantic, it's not exciting, and it shouldn't be, said Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and CEO of Art Recovery International. While the interest seems to be helping the investigation, a man who recovers stolen art for a living wants to crush any idea that art thefts make good heist movies. Photo: (Matthew Kupfer/CBC) Don't romanticize art heists, recoverer says Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the Fairmont Château Laurier, is asking anyone who may have photos taken between Dec. 6, 2022, is encouraged to contact the hotel, Dumas said. People love an art heist, and have been sharing ideas of where the portrait might be.Īnyone who may have seen something fishy last Christmas, or who might have photos taken between Dec.
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