Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Those Stolen Works the Romanian Mother Burned? It Was All a Lie

July 22, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Picasso, Harlequin Head

Olga Dogaru, the mother of one of the art thieves who hit a Dutch museum last October, now says the story about burning the art was just a ruse. Last week, a report seemed to confirm that the ashes found in her stove were consistent with paintings from the periods. However, her lawyer insists it was all a lie. And for good reason, burning the paintings is a far more serious crime than helping her son, according to the New York Times:

Standing alongside her son, Radu, 29, who has admitted stealing the paintings last October from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, Mrs. Dogaru told a panel of three judges that her earlier account of destorying the works in a stove at her house in the tiny village of Carcaliu was untrue. “I did not burn them,” she said in a soft voice.[…]  The most serious charge against Mrs. Dogaru arose from her earlier claim to have destroyed the artworks, which are valued at tens of millions of dollars. Under Romanian law, the crime of “destruction with very serious consequences,” one of three charges against Mrs. Dogaru, carries a sentence of 3 to 10 years — far longer than the punishment for her two other alleged crimes, “supporting a criminal group” and “assisting criminals.”

Romanian Says Her Tale of Burning Art Treasures Was a Lie (NY Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Zwirner v Spiegler: Small Gallery Art Fair SubsidiesZwirner v Spiegler: Small Gallery Art Fair Subsidies
  • Sotheby’s NY Old Masters, $34m Safra CollectionSotheby’s NY Old Masters, $34m Safra Collection
  • Allan Stone Sale at Sotheby'sAllan Stone Sale at Sotheby's
  • 1980s Art Star Donald Sultan Reflects on His Career1980s Art Star Donald Sultan Reflects on His Career
  • Correcting Richard PrinceCorrecting Richard Prince
  • Cohen Buys But Does He Sell?Cohen Buys But Does He Sell?

Filed Under: Fraud, Theft & Restitution

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • A Season of Improvisation: Fall 2020 New York Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Analysis
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Basquiat's Last Girlfriend
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Phillips Includes $2.5m Norman Rockwell Painting in November Evening Sale
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor