Massive Art Heist in LA

Wow, this would be impressive if weren't really heartbreaking. An art thief walked right into the unlocked door of an elderly couple's home - while the couple was in another room and the maid had stepped out for a moment - and stole more than a dozen works of art valued at many millions of dollars. Click here to read the whole story in the LA Times.

The stolen artworks include Emil Nolde's "Figur mit Hund" (Figure With Dog), 1912; Lyonel Feininger's "Fin de Séance," 1910; Chaim Soutine's "La Vieille Dame au Chien" (Old Woman with Dog), 1919; Soutine's "La Femme en Rouge" (Woman in Red), 1926; Kees van Dongen's "Alicia Alanova," 1933; and Hans Hofmann's Untitled (Blue Bottle), 1947, authorities said.

What's really interesting to me is the unusual nature of the collection, worth millions of dollars but including several lesser-known artists instead of the usual mid/early 20th Century art superstars. The couple, who has not been named, clearly had really refined and particular tastes. I do hope that if/when these works are recovered, the couple will commit to eventually leave them in the safe hands of a museum so they can be enjoyed by the public. One can only hope that while the works are missing they will be well cared for - the thief must be some sort of art lover, right?