The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

(Originally posted to Instagram on October 12, 2024)

This was an impulse buy in the Tampa airport waiting for my long-delayed flight home (I was trapped in Florida for almost a week by a hurricane). It’d been a stressful few days and I wanted a pick-me-up. This looked like a fun bit of non-fiction escapism, and that’s exactly what it delivered.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a lot about art. I’ve been to a few museums in my day. My class visited the Butler Art Institute in Youngstown several times when I was a kid. But the names of artists often bounce off me (the ones they didn’t name the Ninja Turtles after, anyway). I know hardly anything about specific eras or movements in art. I couldn’t tell you the difference between Renaissance and Baroque. Heck, I don’t even really know if that’s a good example to use to illustrate my own ignorance here. A complete layperson. I like pretty pictures, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge of art.

I say that to tell you this book was a really compelling read. It’s the story of Stéphane Breitwieser, arguably the most prolific art thief of the modern era. It walks us through his personality and background, how he got his start as an art thief, and how he pulled some of his most daring heists. It also shows us his relationship with his parents, his girlfriend, the art scene, and other contemporary art thieves.

I don’t want to spoil here, but there are times when Breitwieser is genuinely charming, and others where he’s infuriatingly childish and irresponsible. He’s adept at building an admirable and high-minded persona for himself, and I think that’s partly what made him such a skilled thief. He was (is?) successful at fooling everyone, including himself. The ending, which again I won’t spoil, is absolutely heartbreaking for its impact on the art scene and on world culture.

There are also some pretty pictures of pieces he stole, which I appreciated as a layperson. I recommend it for everyone, but if you know anything about the art world, absolutely pick this one up. You’ll probably get a lot out of this.