{"id":89,"date":"2025-04-27T23:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/?p=89"},"modified":"2025-05-03T09:06:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T16:06:55","slug":"how-van-gogh-paid-for-my-tropical-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/2025\/04\/27\/how-van-gogh-paid-for-my-tropical-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"How Van Gogh Paid For My Tropical Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"The
Vincent Van Gogh, Alexander Reid, 1887, Oil on Board
https:\/\/artuk.org\/discover\/artworks\/alexander-reid-18541928-84131<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"You're hired!\" The words were music to my ears. I, Evangeline Star, was in. My resume, although riddled with lies, had impressed the museum enough for me to slide through. I was now an archivist for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with the access to steal a Van Gogh. This small but beautiful painting of Alexander Reid with its vibrant colors caught my attention right away; of course, the price it would fetch also played a part. The first step of my plan was complete; it was time to then begin my recon and research, as I already knew where the painting was in the museum. It was located in the French art gallery section on the first floor to the east wall. The fact that it was in a room that had an outward facing wall also eased my worries, if my exit was interrupted I could always escape through the wall with a small explosive device.

Destruction and making a scene was obviously not my first choice, but when it came to going to jail I would anything to get out clean. One example of this was recently when a Dutch museum was robbed using explosives and other artifacts were damaged. This is what I would want to avoid, doing any unnecessary harm to the art and artifacts of the Kelvingrove. This is why I would want to use a small explosive device but only if necessary. I could tell you about how I would construct this device but that is on a need to know basis.<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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This Painting of Alexander Reid by Vincent Van Gogh was my ticket to paradise. Now that I had obtained work at the museum I would have the access I needed to plan my heist and steal this painting. As 90% of all art crimes are internal, an inside job was my natural route to steal this piece of art. Getting internal access to the museum and gaining the trust of those I worked for would allow me to steal the art much easier. I chose this painting in particular because of not only its value as a Van Gogh but because of its size. It would be easy to make off with as it is approximately 26in by 23in framed. This was one of my biggest concerns when choosing what I wanted to steal as I read in my research, many art thefts have gone awry because of size. One case that stands out in particular was two Andy Warhol prints that had been left out on the street because they couldn't fit in the thief's car, and the prints were damaged. Why was this? All because of poor planning.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Since I got my job at the museum in January I would have six months to gain the trust of the security team and other employees of the museum. My visa was only for six months so I planned to steal the painting right before my time was up. I would then flee the country and it would be slightly less suspicious. I would sell my painting before I left though, crossing boarders with any illicit material is a pain. However once you do get to another country jurisdiction becomes tricky and you are more likely to get away. Taiwan is where I am writing from today, my dream destination and my country of choice. Not to mention Interpol has no jurisdiction here and the UK doesn't recognize Taiwan as a state so I can't be extradited. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Kelvingrove Museum opened in 1901<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Picture<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"picture<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The latest theft  <\/p>\n\n\n\n
was in 2012<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Security was last <\/p>\n\n\n\n
updated in 2018<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Picture<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Another<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My heist occurred this very year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
These images of the Kelvingrove museum were taken by me on my digital camera when I first visited the museum in the spring of last year. It shows the beauty of the architecture but also the age of the structure of the museum itself. Despite the old look of the museum it does have 360 degree cameras in each of the exhibit rooms that will alert the security team when they detect movement. This was my biggest challenge as I would have very little time to get in and out of the museum with my painting. I would have spent the night working late in the archives so that was my entrance, and after everyone left I would make my move. I would have alerted the security team that I was working late so I would be able to walk around without all of the alarms going off. However once I removed the painting from the wall nothing would stop that alert. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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\"Floorplan
Kelvingrove Museum Floorplan
https:\/\/www.glasgowlife.org.uk\/media\/1538\/kelvingrove-art-gallery-and-museum-floor-plan.pdf<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Because of this I had to move fast, removing the painting from the wall (some thieves have cut paintings out of frames but I didn't want to waste any time or do any damage to the value of the work). I then causally but quickly I moved down the stairs and out the back exit to my waiting car. Driving away from the city center and towards my buyer, it was best not to wait and have the stolen art in my possession for as short a time as possible. I met with the buyer I had arranged months prior through a friend I had that knew some shady people. I knew they were the real deal because when I went for a meeting they had many famous works of art in their office that appeared authentic. The kinds of art that doesn't go on the market, not the legal market anyway. We met at a neutral location and made an exchange, the Alexander Reid painting for 100,000 dollars in cash.<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Van Gogh’s self portrait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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