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Art Theft and the Tate's Stolen Turners

Sandy Nairne, director, National Portrait Gallery, London. In 1994 two important paintings by J.M.W. Turner were stolen from a public gallery in Frankfurt, Germany, while on loan from the Tate in London. In this podcast recorded on September 15, 2011, at the National Gallery of Art Sandy Nairne reveals his own involvement, as then director of programs at the Tate, in the pursuit of the pictures and in the negotiation for their return. Nairne shares this story in his new book, Art Theft and the Tate's Stolen Turners, also examining other high-value art thefts and trying to solve the puzzle of why thieves steal well-known works of art that cannot be sold, even on the black market.

10/18/11