Your next opening should follow a checklist of some obvious and not-so-obvious details. The obvious is having all the necessary materials on hand, such as the artist’s bio, pricing sheet, and guestbook, prepping the artist on talking points and having easily identifiable personnel throughout the gallery to talk about the works. However, for your team to bring to life this …
Alula + Art Guard: Protecting the Priceless
Late at night on March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as police officers — one of them bold enough to sport a false mustache made of wax — talked their way past security guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. After handcuffing the hapless guards, the pair made off with a half-billion-dollars’ worth of paintings by Rembrandt, Degas, …
4 Simple Ways to Protect Your Art
I read about thefts of art and assets on a pretty regular basis from various news feeds, some from museums and galleries and, mostly in Europe and North America. If there’s a common thread it’s that the victims appear to have been completely unaware of the threat. The only logical explanation, as I’ve said before, is that we’re naïve to …
Improved Standards for Lending Art
Lending by private collectors has always been a vital component of the museum and gallery market. It serves the borrowing institution by expanding its reputation in a specific area or style or by broadening its scope of scholarship. Bigger crowds, increased patronage and a spotlight on their capabilities are desirable outcomes. For lenders, the advantages may be several-fold, including attention, …
Bi-Weekly Art Theft Roundup (04/14)
Welcome to Art Guard’s bi-weekly roundup of art theft in the U.S. as reported on the Museum Security Network. An emotional and financial loss. Outdoor sculpture is such an easy target. Statue Stolen from Child Advocacy Center Police seek help finding four statues worth $40,000 taken from baseball field storage facility Great blue heron statue stolen from St. Paul park, …
Why is Risk Mitigation Everyone’s Business?
I recently spoke with a banker from a firm that is very active in art financing; I’ve always thought the bank would have enough skin in the game to be concerned about theft. Accordingly, they would encourage their clients to adopt a more aggressive approach to protecting their collections, especially when the works still hanging in their homes are being …
Bi-Weekly Art Theft Roundup (03/24)
Welcome to Art Guard’s bi-weekly roundup of art theft in the U.S. as reported on the Museum Security Network. There were several thefts from religious institutions reported. It’s most likely that churches are suffering frequent thefts, as they do everywhere in the world, and we never hear about it. Stolen gold rings and cross devastating to St. Leo Abbey, community …
Bi-Weekly Art Theft Roundup (03/10)
Welcome to Art Guard’s bi-weekly roundup of art theft in the U.S. as reported on the Museum Security Network. A good weekend to all. Caregiver gets 10 years in prison for stealing artwork from elderly artist Reporting may just be more frequent but there appears to an uptick in theft of statuary in the last several years: Three iron crosses …
What Would You Pay for Peace of Mind?
A gallery that has used Art Guard sensors for several years contacted me regarding a trove of works on loan for a show. The value of these pieces exceeded anything they had exhibited before by tens of millions of dollars. Their question concerned whether it was advisable to mix methods of security protection and whether tethering paintings to walls was …