Thieves Have Stolen Three Old Master Paintings Valued at $12 Million From an Oxford College’s Gallery

Three Old Master paintings were
stolen from a small art museum in an Oxford college over the
weekend. The 16th- and 17th-century works by Anthony Van Dyck,
Salvatore Rosa, and Annibale Carracci are thought to be worth as
much as $12 million.

The burglary at the Christ
Church Picture Gallery at the University of Oxford occurred at
around 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. It is unclear how the
burglars accessed the gallery.

The stolen paintings are Rosa’s
A Rocky Coast, With
Soldiers Studying a Plan (late 1640s), Van Dyck’s A Soldier on Horseback (around 1616), and Carracci’s
A Boy Drinking
(around 1580). Similar works by the
three arists could fetch as much as £10 million ($12.3 million) on
the art market, according to the Times.

Police are appealing for
witnesses who saw or heard anything suspicious to come forward, as
well as anyone who might have CCTV or other footage from the area
around the time of the crime.

“The artwork has not yet been
recovered but a thorough investigation is underway to find it and
bring those responsible to justice,” a statement from Thames Valley
Police says. It adds that there will be an increased police
presence in the area while officers and staff carry out
enquiries.

The works have been at Christ
Church college since 1765, when General John
Guise (1682-83–1765) left more than 200 paintings and nearly
2,000 drawings to his alma mater.t The college’s Old
Master collection is renowned internationally, and includes works
by Leonardo and Raphael, among others. They are housed in the
purpose-built Christchurch Picture Gallery,w hich opened 1968.

The gallery is staying closed
until further notice.

Targeted raids on smaller
institutions with valuable collections seems to be a growing
occurrence after a thief attempted
to heist a pair of Rembrandts from Dulwich Picture Gallery in November. In
Oxfordshire a very different audacious heist took place at Blenheim
Palace last October when Maurizio Cattelan’s
solid-gold toilet, America, was stolen. The sculpture
is still missing although three people have been arrested in
connection with the theft. 

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Valued at $12 Million From an Oxford College’s Gallery appeared
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