The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the theft of 18 works of art from a suburban home that contained works by prominent Australian artists Arthur Streeton, Charles Blackman and Tim Storrier. The police are saying the haul has a value of A$2 million but a Sydney dealer isn’t terribly impressed:
Veteran art dealer Denis Savill said he did not believe the burglars went to the home just to steal the paintings, as they were “minor works by the artists”. “It’s not a serious collection by eastern suburbs’ standards. Most thieves are not educated people … It won’t be stolen-to-order because there’s nothing in there you want.” He said the poor economic climate meant the paintings would not be worth even $1 million if they were sold. “There’s not a huge amount of value in them in the real sense in auction right now. So you couldn’t get rid of them quickly.”
$2m Sydney art heist: 18 paintings stolen from exclusive suburb (Sydney Morning Herald)