Luis,

More ignorant crime.

This sounds like pure robbery without art knowledge which in some ways is worse than theft to order.

By the way, GO CHECK OUT Hugo Naude's other works on Google images. Great landscapes in particular.

Roger

Quote:

Luis,

More ignorant crime.

This sounds like pure robbery without art knowledge which in some ways is worse than theft to order.

By the way, GO CHECK OUT Hugo Naude's other works on Google images. Great landscapes in particular.

Roger

4 stolen paintings found in South Africa cemetery

This undated photo provided by The City of Tshwane on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, shows a Gerard Sekoto "street scene" oil on canvas. Police in South Africa said Monday that robbers posing as visitors to an art museum stole more than $2 million worth of art including "Street Scene" from an exhibit near the country's capital. (AP Photo/The City of Tshwane)

This undated photo provided by The City of Tshwane on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, shows a 1931 Irma Stern "Fishing Boats" oil on canvas. Police in South Africa said Monday that robbers posing as visitors to an art museum stole more than $2 million worth of art including "fishing boats" from an exhibit near the country's capital. (AP Photo/The City of Tshwane)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An informer's tip led South African police to a private cemetery Tuesday where they found fourpaintings hundreds of miles away from where they had been stolen from a museum in the capital, authorities said.

The tip is the latest twist in a heist that saw $2 million worth of art stolen Sunday from the Pretoria Art Museum by pistol-wielding thieves posing as eager students with their teacher. One oil paintingof a South African township streetscape by artist Gerard Sekotoremains missing.

A canine officer received a tip from an informer Tuesday that led him to a private cemetery in Port Elizabeth, a city about 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) from Pretoria, said Brig. Marinda Mills of the South African Police Service. There, under a bench near a memorial wall with plaques naming the dead, officers found four of the missing five pieces of art, she said.

Mills said police had started to verify that the paintings found, all in good condition, were the originals.

"From a layman's perspective, it appears to be the missing art," she said.

No arrests have been made, but officers continue to investigate in the area in hopes that the other stolen painting may be nearby, Mills said. The missing Sekoto painting, an oil pastel on canvas image of township life, is worth about $800,000, authorities say.

The theft Sunday at the Pretoria Art Museum saw robbers calmly pay for tickets and ask a curator to show them specific paintings at the gallery before they pulled out pistols and forced all others to the ground, officials said. They tied up the curator and others before collecting the paintings they previously asked about, officials said.

The robbers left behind another oil painting showing two musicians because they were not able to fit the painting inside their getaway car, a silver sedan, authorities said. The thieves left as private security guards at the museum drew close to them.

The museum closed Monday for the week and removed its most valuable remaining possessions for safekeeping. Authorities say they now plan to increase security to prevent thefts there. However, the video surveillance cameras at the museum had stopped working on Thursday, city spokesman Pieter de Necker said.

Violent crime and murders remain common in South Africa, but high-profile art thefts are not as common. In February 2011, thieves stole four small, limited-edition prints by South African artist William Kentridge from a gallery in Johannesburg. Thieves also have targeted bronze statutes in other South African museums, with authorities believing they are actually then sold for their scrap metal value.

Art theft is the third most lucrative crime in the world, after drugs and illicit arms sales, according to Interpol and the FBI. However, selling famous works remains difficult for criminals either locally where the theft happened or abroad, authorities say. Despite the challenges, estimates suggest there are billions of dollars made in stolen art sales annually across the world.

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Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

Luis,

That's great news.

Looks like the theives couldn't find a market for their swag.

I liked your comment about the other missing paintings.

I understand why you say that but for once I slightly disagree. Personal taste.

I am very fond of fauvist art AS AN IMAGE and as a way of looking differently at things. Cezzane for example got more and more abstract in his landscapes until some were decidedly amateur looking, however, being accepted as a great artist experts looked at WHY he went that way.

I love this Derain

The stolen painting here with the boats on reminds me of Derain and I would love to own as I like the palette and the overall construction, however, I accept that this is not accurately produced or the work of a master. I know that if I were to be given the choice to own one between a Constable and this painting (price aside) I would probably go for Constable because of the beauty of the workmanship, technique and the care taken in replicating the view, however, I confess that I would get less bored or overfamiliar with the colourful image.

I know you will understand even if not in agreement. That's what makes art fascinating.