PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- An estimated $27 million worth of art, including works by Jackson Pollock, Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt, were stolen from a Pebble Beach home on Friday.
The artwork was taken from the home that the owners of the collection, A. Benjamin Amadio and Dr. Ralph Kennaugh, were renting while they looked at property in the area, KSBW-TV in Monterey, Calif., reported.
Amadio said the pieces of art hadn't been hung since they were just renting the home. He also said that several other pieces of art that were part of the collection weren't stolen.
Amadio and Kennaugh are offering two separate rewards -- a $1 million reward for the return of the stolen artwork, and a $5 million reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the heist.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Department is investigating. A private investigator has also been hired.
Amadio and Kennaugh said they think that the heist was an inside job and done by a professional who had knowledge of what art was at the home.
"I think the people that stole it number one knew what we had, and two, probably had buyers for the artwork before they went to take it," Kennaugh said. "I think chances of getting it back are slim."
Kennaugh also said the artwork was uninsured because hardly anyone knew about his collection, which is why he thinks it was an inside job.
The largest known art heist to take place in the U.S. was in Boston during St. Patrick's Day in 1990. A total of 13 pieces, including work by Rembrandt and Degas, were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The art was estimated to have a value of about $300 million.
Pollock, Van Gogh Pieces In Collection
Posted By: Daniel Moss
Tuesday, September 29th 2009 at 4:29PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
