High Art and Politics
An Unusual Demand for a Stolen Painting at the Jewish Museum

Listen to Linda Wertheimer's report for All Things Considered.

Aug. 20, 2001 -- High art and Middle East politics -- these two unlikely topics were the focal point of a highly unusual ransom note received by the Jewish Museum in New York.

Marc Chagall, Study for "Over Vitebsk", 1914, oil on canvas. Photo: Private collection, St. Petersburg. © 2001 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Two months ago, "Study for 'Over Vitebsk,'" an oil painting by Marc Chagall estimated at $1 million, was stolen from the museum.

The 8-by-10 inch picture portrays a man floating past rooftops, a reference to Eastern Europe's Jewish population which had been regularly forced to move. The painting was on loan from a private collector in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The theft, which was discovered the morning after the museum's cocktail reception with over 200 attendees, left few traces for investigators.

But the museum says it has now received a letter from someone claiming responsibility for the incident. Ransom notes for stolen art are nothing unusual. But what's different about this letter is its demand. It doesn't ask for any monetary reward for the painting's return, but simply says the work will not be returned until peace has been achieved between Israel and the Palestinians.

The letter puts the Jewish Museum in a difficult position because this non-profit organization has little political clout to influence the Middle East situation.

On Monday's All Things Considered, Linda Wertheimer interviews Anna Kisluk, director of Art Services for the Art Loss Register which maintains a database of more than 100,000 pieces of stolen art. Kisluk says this is not the first time art has been stolen for political reasons and talks about similar cases from the past.

Other Resources

Visit Art Loss Register's Web site to learn more about stolen art.