Armed thieves entered the E.G. Buehrle Collection, a private museum for Impressionist art, in Zurich on Sunday and made off with approximately $163 million worth of art. The four men, clad in ski masks, are said to have pulled up in front of the small museum in a white van, entered through the main entrance and the single gunmen held the staff on the floor with his gun while two men took the four paintings from the wall. The four works stolen in the heist include Vincent Van Gogh’s “Blooming Chestnut Branches”, Claude Monet’s “Poppy Field at Vetheuil”, Edgar Degas’ “Ludovic Lepic and His Daughter” and Paul Cezanne’s “Boy in the Red Waistcoat”.

E.G. Buehrle was a German industrialist who amassed a fortune selling arms to the Third Reich during World War Two. Many of the works in the Buehrle Collection have been the subject of looted artwork claims or claims that they were sold in desperation at very low prices by their Jewish owners to avoid Nazi seizure.

Just last Wednesday two Picasso paintings valued at $4.5 million were stolen as well, this time from a cultural center in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. The works, “Horse Head” and “Glass and Pitcher,” owned by the Sprengel Museum in Germany, were on loan for a Picasso exhibition at the Swiss cultural center.

Given the high profile nature of the two thefts, the publicity of the images of the stolen works and the fact that these works are so widely identifiable as works by Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh Degas and Cezanne the paintings will be very difficult to sell. Rewards are offered for information leading to the recovery of these works.

Photo: Keystone/Stadtpolizei Zuerich via Foundation E.G. Buehrle Collection/AP

Our art museums largely depend upon donations as well as ever-increasing visitorship (i.e. ticket sales) in order to bring exhibitions and programming to the public as well as to increase the museums’ holdings for the future. Though some visitors complain of the high price of tickets to museums these days one can’t forget that these are not-for-profit institutions which depend upon our generosity and our visits for a large part of their budgets. One excellent alternative to paying full price for tickets each time you visit a museum is to purchase an annual membership to your favorite museum.

Museums now make it really easy to join with their wide range of offerings such as varying levels of individual memberships at different price points, family memberships, reciprocal relationships with related institutions, discounts for out of town/country members as well as seniors and students, gift memberships, and, of course, the ability to join on-line without even having to go to a museum! Often these memberships are coupled with special access to museum events, discounts on merchandise, publications and other valuable items.

In addition, a large portion (if not all) of the museum membership is tax deductible. As if you needed another incentive…

Many of us have been to an auction of some sort in our lives, perhaps at a school or hospital fundraiser. Art auctions run very much the same way, but a little more research is involved when bidding on a painting than on a deep sea fishing trip. Here are the basic steps one would need to take to buy a work of art at auction.

First, purchase the auction catalogue. The catalogue will usually identify the artist, the name and date of the work, and the estimate for each work of art. The estimate is the price for which the auctioneer thinks the work will sell and is often expressed as a range from low to high. For example when a catalogue reads “Estimate $10,000-$20,000” the low estimate is $10,000 and the high estimate is $20,000. A work may sell at, above or below the estimate. Often there is other very important information in the catalogue such as condition, provenance and previous sales or publications of this work.

Next, attend the auction preview and see the works of art in person. Auction houses will designate times when the works for sale will be on display for potential buyers to examine. You should ask questions of the experts present at the preview. They are there to help potential bidders to learn more about the auction’s offerings. They will often be able to tell you what kind of interest there has been in the lot from other potential bidders.

Third, do your research. You should learn as much as you can about prior public sales prices for the work of art up for auction (if any) so that you can make an educated decision about how much you are willing to pay for it this time around. Read about the artist and the work as well so that you know what you are potentially buying. Is this work from the artist’s best period? Is this work unusual or typical of her work? How does it compare with her other known works? Has this work been documented? Are there any potential provenance issues about which you should be concerned? Another critical element of the research process is condition. Ask the auction house for a written condition report about the work. If a written report is not available, a verbal report is better than nothing. Consider hiring an expert to go in to the preview as well and examine the work. With some types of art this is critical.

Fourth, set your limits for bidding. It is important to know how much you want to spend on a work before the auction begins and the adrenaline starts pumping. Do not forget to add in any buyer’s premium that will be assessed by the auction house. Such information is usually disclosed in the auction catalogue. There are bidders who simply go to an auction and bid with their hearts, but common sense dictates that most people set an upper limit pre-sale.

Fifth, and finally, register with the auction house in advance so that you get a paddle number. Once you set up the account, and the day of the auction has arrived, you take your paddle and find a spot in the auction room where you can see and hear the auctioneer. (Alternatively, you may arrange to bid by phone or through an auction house representative. Another alternative is to leave a written or on-line bid in advance.) When the auctioneer announces the lot number and name of the work you wish to bid on you simply raise your paddle. Be sure that the auctioneer has acknowledged your bid or you could get left out. You should also try, if possible, to exercise some restraint and patience in bidding so that you can see who your competition might be. Often bidders will wait until the last minute to jump in and bid on an item. If your bid is successful the auctioneer will ask to see your paddle and will write down your number for payment purposes. All you have to do now is pay for the lot and arrange to get it to your home.

There are lots of tricks the pros use in bidding, but these are the basics. The best advice is to attend a few previews and auctions in person before bidding yourself so that you get comfortable with the process.

The Edward Hopper House Art Center in Nyack, New York was the family home of American artist Edward Hopper in the late 1800’s. This house appears in numerous paintings and sketches by the artist throughout his career. In the 1970’s the house, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was in a state of disrepair and faced with demolition when some local residents formed a non-profit organization called the Edward Hopper Landmark Preservation Foundation in order to save this piece of local history. The Foundation restored the house and opened a museum and exhibition gallery to the public. The house remains a community arts center featuring arts lectures and lessons and a gallery where visitors can see exhibitions about Hopper’s life and career as well as art exhibits and competitions of works by other local artists.

The house is located in Nyack about twenty miles North of New York City along the Hudson River. The gallery is open from 1 to 5 pm Thursday through Sunday and makes a nice stop on a scenic visit to the Hudson River area. The current gallery exhibition is the Annual Members’ Show. For more information see their website.

As the inaugural event of Arts & Leisure Week Carol Vogel of the New York Times interviewed contemporary artist Jeff Koons at the Times Center Monday, January 7. Vogel took Koons through a slide show of his work over the years as they discussed how he became the well-known blue chip artist he is today and the various types of artwork he has done over the years. It was a rare opportunity to hear from an artist at the top of his popularity what he considers to be important in art making and what he thinks of his prior work. Recall that in November two consecutive records were set on consecutive days for Koons sculpture at auction. First, Christie’s sold Blue Diamond for $11.8 million and then following night Sotheby’s sold Koons’ red Hanging Heart $23.5 million.

When Vogel asked Koons how he responds to criticism that his work is produced not by the hand of the artist himself but by a team of 80 whom he employs in his studio Koons responded that as an artist it is his responsibility to educate people and to show the public how to look at things. He said that he feels he does that by allocating his time and resources to oversee the art projects in his studio. He later pointed out, while discussing his sculpture of the Great Bear & The Policeman, that he feels a moral obligation to the community that comes with being an artist. Koons said that that sculpture was about how art can get out of control and people can misuse the power of it.

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