Vase with Poppies Robberies
Note that I said robberieS in the title, not just robbery. This painting by van Gogh has been stolen not once but twice from the same museum in Egypt. How was the painting recovered the first time and how was it allowed to be stolen again? Where is it now?
Vase with Poppies
Also referred to as Poppy Flowers this work was created by Vincent van Gogh in 1887, three years before his death. It was painted while he was living in Paris before he moved to the south of France. It is not one of van Gogh’s most famous works but all paintings by him are highly prized and are worth millions. This one is a lovely example of his style and flowers are one of his classic subject matters. This alone makes it the target of art thieves everywhere.
Not a ton of detail is known about how the painting made its way to Egypt but sometime after van Gogh’s death, it moved from Paris to Cairo where it was installed as one of the prized works in the impressive collection at the Mohamed Khalil Museum.
Theft #1
I’ll say before we dive into this one that the Egyptian government has been verrrrrry tight-lipped about this theft. Maybe because they’re embarrassed? Idk. Not a lot of details were made public. So this is what we know:
On June 4, 1977, Vase with Poppies, which had been hanging in the museum, went missing. How? We don’t know for sure but it is thought that it was grabbed sometime while the museum was moving to a new location. It is also not known for sure who is responsible but it has been hinted that it was a trio of Egyptians. Whoever they are the painting was found in Kuwait and returned to the museum one year after it went missing.
Theft #2
This is where things get a little more interesting. On August 21, 2010, Vase with Poppies was cut from its frame, in broad daylight, and removed from the museum. Obviously, everyone was distraught, this was the jewel of the museum’s collection (it was displayed alone in its own room), and it’s estimated to be worth $55 million. No one is quite sure how this theft was pulled off but the frame was discovered soon after, hanging empty, and the alarm was raised.
Immediately, Egypt’s minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, ordered urgent measures at all ports to prevent the painting from being taken out of the country. A few hours after the disappearance of the painting local news outlets reported that two Italian tourists had been detained at Cairo International Airport, just before they were to board their flight back to Italy. Apparently, museum officials had reported this couple as acting suspiciously while they were using the washroom and abruptly abandoning their tour group and leaving the museum. All of which raised red flags when it was discovered that the painting was gone. Hosni later announced that Vase with Poppies had been recovered before quickly retracting that statement saying that they had received wrong and incorrect information and that officials were still looking for the painting. Talk about a blunder. By the way, the Italian tourists were released when a strong connection couldn’t be made between them and the crime and they were allowed to go home.
There is more to this robbery though. Since this was the second time this painting had been stolen from the museum and this time in broad daylight, an investigation was conducted into the museum’s security since something like this should have raised some alarms while it was happening. It turned out that, at the time of the theft, only seven of the museum’s 43 security cameras were operational and none of the security alarms were actually active. There were also reports of the security guards not making their rounds or being as diligent as they should have been.
Additionally, the suspects should have been relatively straightforward to pin down (unless it was an inside job) because the museum only reported 10 visitors that day, including the Italians who were accused. After the detention (and subsequent release) of the Italian couple, it is unclear if any solid leads still exist. A month after the day of the theft the Egyptian Interior Minister, Habib Al-Adly, told a newspaper that the most likely scenario was that an employee of the museum was involved in some way. Either they had helped someone else steal the painting or they had stolen it themselves. Again, a limited pool of people but no arrests have ever been made.
Since that day in August 2010, Vase with Poppies has never been seen or heard from. No strange communications with the museum demanding a ransom, no sightings, not a peep. Billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris is offering a $175,000 reward for anyone who can provide relevant information but it’s as if the painting vanished into thin air. Hopefully, it turns up eventually but I think hope is dwindling as the years pass by with no progress.
Works Cited
D’souza, Viandra. “From $3.8 Mn to $200 Mn, Stolen van Gogh, Raphael Artworks That Were Never Found”. 2019. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/from-3-8-mn-to-200-mn-stolen-van-gogh-raphael-artworks-that-were-never-found/the-art-world/slideshow/69938261.cms
Hassan, Amro. “Egypt: $55 Million van Gogh Painting Poppy Flowers Stolen from Cairo Museum”. 2010. LA Times. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/08/egypt-van-gogh-painting-missing-from-cairo-museum.html
McNearney, Allison. “Why Does van Gogh’s Poppy Flowers Keep Getting Stolen?” 2017. Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-does-van-goghs-poppy-flowers-keep-getting-stolen