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Showing posts with label Gainsborough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gainsborough. Show all posts

December 26, 2014

J. Mark Collins publishes "Adam Worth: A Critical Analysis of the Criminal Motivations Behind the Man Who Stole the Duchess of Devonshire" in the Fall 2014 issue of The Journal of Art Crime

by Catherine Schofield Sezgin,
   ARCA Blog Editor-in-chief

In the Fall 2014 issue of The Journal of Art Crime, J. Mark Collins publishes "Adam Worth: A Critical Analysis of the Criminal Motivations Behind the Man Who Stole the Duchess of Devonshire". This is the abstract:
Adam Worth was a career criminal who lived over one hundred years ago, and is best known for his theft of Gainsborough’s portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire. The context in which Worth plied his trade—the era of technology and change—facilitated much of his success. A critical review of his extensive career, including a number of uniquely famous thefts, will be viewed through the lens of four criminological theories: Strain Theory, Differential Association Theory, Rational Choice Theory, and Routine Activity Theory, to not only explain his motivation and behaviour, but also to explore the causality of criminality in general. This critical analysis supports the contention that no one theory of criminology, no matter how broad, can adequately explain such a complicated individual whose criminal career spanned four decades. Rather, an integrated theory of criminology, one that is both flexible and fluid, is essential in order to explain the life of such a multifaceted and unique individual as Adam Worth.
J. Mark Collins is a Sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), currently assigned as a Senior Investigator with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. As a 22-year veteran of the force, Collins has investigated everything from traffic accidents to homicides. His interest in art theft
investigation (something his beautiful wife, Laura, and three wonderful girls, Brianna, Aliyah and Aislyn, would say borders on an obsession), has developed over many years. As a youth he was the caretaker of the expansive fine arts collection housed in his employer’s country estate, a collection
that now resides in the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum. Prior to joining the OPP, Collins worked at the Art Gallery of Ontario and kept a close eye on the pieces donated by his old boss. His goal is to start a proper art theft unit within the OPP, but until such time, he spends his spare time teaching Karate, writing, building furniture and trying to keep up with his girls.

Subscriptions to The Journal of Art Crime or individual copies of eEditions or printed issues may be obtained through ARCA's website here.

December 9, 2013

"Victorian Art Theft in England: Early Cases and Sociology of the Crime Noah Charney and John Kleberg in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Art Crime

The Fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Art Crime includes an academic article by ARCA Founder Noah Charney and John Kleberg on "Victorian Art Theft in England: Early Cases and Sociology of the Crime". This is the abstract:
Victorian England represents a distinctive sociological Petri dish for criminologists. Attitudes towards crime, the myth of the gentleman thief, and the important veneer of respectability beneath which flowed a rich vein of immorality and criminal activity are all unique to the time and place. And yet the influence of Victorian crime can still be felt today. The general public still assumes that thieves, in particular art thieves, adhere to Victorian (and later Edwardian) stereotypes: that art thieves are non-violent, educated men of gentlemanly aspirations. This was the case in some famous cases, notably that of Adam Worth, described here. But the perception among the general public has not caught up with the more devastating realities of art crime, that it is the third highest-grossing criminal trade worldwide since the Second World War, and that it is entwined with the drug and arms trades, and even terrorism. This paper examines two famous Victorian art theft case studies, discusses the Victorian origin of museums and the art market, and concludes with how these high-profile cases influenced the public perception of art theft, and continues to do so to this day.
This is an introduction to the article:
Victorian England represents a distinctive sociological petri dish for criminologists. Attitudes towards crime, the myth of the gentleman thief, and the important veneer of respectability beneath which flowed a rich vein of immorality and criminal activity are all unique to the time and place. And yet the influence of Victorian crime can still be felt today. The general public still assumes that thieves, in particular art thieves, adhere to Victorian (and later Edwardian) stereotypes: that art thieves are non-violent, educated men of gentlemanly aspirations. This was the case in some famous cases, notably that of Adam Worth, described here. But the perception among the general public has not caught up with the more devastating realities of art crime, that it is the third highest- grossing criminal trade worldwide since the Second World War, and that it is entwined with the drug and arms trades, and even terrorism. This paper examines two famous Victorian art theft case studies, discusses the Victorian origin of museums and the art market, and concludes with how these high-profile cases influenced the public perception of art theft, particularly the archetype of the “gentleman thief,” and continues to do so to this day. 
The extent of theft of fine art across the world, while estimates vary, is most certainly a significant contemporary issue. But the history of such theft, punctuated by extraordinary examples in times of war, is less well documented until more recent times. Two examples, one by an amateur and one by a “professional,” demonstrate the perceived potential value to criminals in Victorian times in England. Known thefts of art from churches exist but it may well be that these two cases represent the earliest examples for financial gain of the theft of fine art.

While details on the amateur thief and the investigation are less available the stories of both are, nonetheless, interesting as possibly the first significant theft of art during this period.
Noah Charney holds Masters degrees in art history from The Courtauld Institute and University of Cambridge, and a PhD from University of Ljubljana. He is Adjunct Professor of Art History at the American University of Rome, a Visiting Lecturer for Brown University abroad programs, and is the founder of ARCA, the Association for Research into Crimes against Art, a non-profit research group on issues of art crimes. Charney is the author of numerous academic and popular articles, including a regular column in ArtInfo called “The Secret History of Art” and a weekly interview series in The Daily Beast called “How I Write.” His first novel, The Art Thief (Atria 2007), is currently translated into seventeen languages and is a best seller in five countries. He is the editor of an academic essay collection entitled Art & Crime: Exploring the Dark Side of the Art World (Praeger 2009) and the Museum Time series of guides to museums in Spain (Planeta 2010). His is author of a critically acclaimed work of non-fiction, Stealing the Mystic Lamb: the True History of the World’s Most Coveted Masterpiece (PublicAffairs 2011), which is a best seller in two countries. His latest book is The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: On Stealing the World’s Most Famous Painting (ARCA Publications 2011). Upcoming books include The Book of Forgery (Phaidon 2014), The Invention of Art (Norton 2015), and an as yet untitled edited collection of essays on art crime (Palgrave 2014).


John Kleberg is a retired Assistant Vice President at The Ohio State University where he was instrumental in organizing a program to identify and record un-catalogued art and artifacts possessed by the University as well as having administrative responsibility for security, police, and other business and finance operations. He also has been a law enforcement administrator, trainer, and educator in Ohio and Illinois. His undergraduate degree is from Michigan State University, graduate degree from the University of Illinois, and he has done post-graduate work at The Ohio State University and Kent State University. He is the author of numerous articles on campus safety and security issues, co-authored several books and is a consultant on campus security issues, including campus museums, libraries, and galleries.

Design for this issue and all issues of The Journal of Art Crime is the work of Urška Charney.

Here's a link to ARCA's website on The Journal of Art Crime (includes Table of Contents for previous issues).

April 4, 2011

Provenance & Art Collections: The Huntington's Scandalous Gainsborough Portrait

by Catherine Schofield Sezgin

Provenance research, establishing the history of an artwork, involves studying various art collections and how the art in each collection was funded and selected. Residents of Pasadena have walking access to two prominent art collections, The Norton Simon Museum and The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. A recent item on The Huntington Library's blog provoked interest with the title, "A Lurid Lady and Two Petulant Painters," posted by Thea Page who provided provenance information on the painting by Thomas Gainsborough to the ARCA blog:
Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier
1770
Canvas, 94 1/2 x 61 3/4 in. (238.76 x 156.85 cm)
11.29
Provenance:
Painted for the sitter's father, George Pitt, later 1st Baron Rivers, of Stratfield Saye, Hampshire, and Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire; by descent to Horace, 6th and last Baron Rivers; General Pitt-Rivers of Rushmore, Salisbury, 1880; A.C. Rivers; W. Pitt Rivers; Charles John Wertheimer of Norfolk Street, Park Lane, c. 1908; sold by his trustees to Duveen, 1911; acquired by Henry E. Huntington, 1911
Henry Edwards Huntington inherited a fortune built on the one of the transcontinental American railways and married his uncle's widow, Arabella Huntington.  The Huntingtons provided an endowment and more than 500 acres for the premier collection guided by art dealer Joseph Duveen.

March 4, 2009

ARCAblog Podcast: The 1876 Gainsborough Art Theft

In ARCA's first podcast, director Noah Charney, takes us on a journey through the criminal underworld of the 19th century and beyond. Beginning with the sale of the portrait of Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire (portrayed by Keira Knightley in the 2008 film The Duchess) by Thomas Gainsborough, 1787, and introducing an intriguing cast of characters from a robber baron to the first private eye to even the man whom many consider to be the most successful criminal of all time, this podcast is not to be missed! Download the podcast here.