In December 2002 the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam saw two of it’s most priceless and historically important paintings get stolen, this is said to be the greatest art heist of the 21st century so far.
In this BBC special we see British art historian and broadcaster Andrew Graham-Dixon confronting the worlds of high art and seriously organised crime in a bid to uncover the truth which lies behind this audacious robbery.
To this day the paintings are still missing, but what happened to them? The criminals who took them would have found it next to impossible to sell them, unless they were commissioned to steal them for someone in particular. It is a mystery which takes Andrew across Europe, moving between the worlds of high art and low crime and meeting policemen, prosecutors and art experts to uncover just how the world of violent and organised crime makes extensive use of stolen art.
Can these masterpieces ever be successfully recovered?
Tush-tush! They have not been stolen…,just “relocated” to some posh oil baron’s estate in the Middle East, perhaps. Wherein if you be one of the lucky ones who have billions & billions in cash/assets…, you’ll be invited to view them at some private clandestine showing…,