As an exhibition of Edvard Munch paintings opens in London, can art ever be safe from thieves?
The Royal Academy is confident the exhibition of Munch pictures is well protected. Enlarge Image One of the most recent, and certainly the most high-profile, art thefts took place at the Munch Museum in Oslo last year. Two paintings, one of them the iconic Munch work The Scream, were stolen by two armed men in August. They walked into the museum and simply tore the paintings from the walls before running to a getaway car. The museum – which has more than 1,000 Munch paintings – has loaned a large number of works to the Royal Academy for an exhibition of the artist’s self-portraits, which opens on Saturday. Ton Cremers, founder of the Museum Security Network, says art theft remains a major threat around the world. “According to Interpol and the FBI and Interpol it is the third largest illegal trade after drugs and weapons,” says Mr Cremers, who offers a consultancy to individuals and institutions on issues of theft and forgery. Victims He says museums are the victims of theft in 15% of
