"An armed robbery on Sunday (7 December) at a library in São Paulo has raised questions about the security of public art collections in Brazil. During public visiting hours, two gunmen entered the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade (BMA) in downtown São Paulo and stole 13 works: eight engravings by Henri Matisse and five works by Candido Portinari. The BMA was hosting the exhibition Do livro ao museu (From the Book to the Museum) in collaboration with the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP)."
"The thieves entered through the main entrance shortly after the library opened and subdued a security guard and an elderly couple before breaking a glass display case and exiting with the works in a canvas bag. Security personnel quickly alerted police, who could not immediately locate the suspects. The BMA has handed over surveillance footage in hopes of finding the suspects, who were seen entering a van. The São Paulo police claims one of the suspects has been identified so far."
"The secretariat of culture issued a statement that reads in part: "The department reports that the exhibited works have a valid insurance policy and that the location has a security team and a security camera system. All material that may be useful for the investigation is being provided to the police authorities. The military police responded to the incident and the municipal civil guard reinforced policing.""
An armed robbery on 7 December targeted the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade (BMA) in downtown São Paulo during public visiting hours. Two gunmen entered, subdued a security guard and an elderly couple, broke a glass display case and stole 13 works: eight engravings by Henri Matisse and five works by Candido Portinari. The BMA was hosting an exhibition in collaboration with Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo featuring Modernist prints and editions from the 1940s and 50s. Police received surveillance footage and seized a getaway van; one suspect has been identified. Authorities suspect involvement of an art trafficking network and released artwork titles. The secretariat of culture confirmed insurance and cooperation with police.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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