Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin 'stolen to order'

April 28, 2003 - London Times
Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin 'stolen to order'
By Ben Hoyle and Andrew Clennell

THREE paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin worth an estimated £1 million have been stolen from a gallery in Manchester.

Police say that the works of art could have been "stolen to order" as the thieves ignored more than ten other valuable paintings in the same room at the Whitworth Art Gallery.

Charles Hill, the former head of Scotland Yard's disbanded art and antiques squad, believes the gallery was targeted because it was relatively easy to break into. He said that the works had been taken because the artists were famous. "There is plenty of better stuff in the Whitworth, but they didn't have the wit to know that," Mr Hill said.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "This was a well planned theft". The thieves are believed to have forced their way into the Pilkington room, which houses part of the Whitworth's modern Masters collection, between 9pm on Saturday and midday yesterday, when security guards raised the alarm. Police said the robbery was "clearly not a smash and grab job".

The stolen paintings were The Fortifications of Paris with Houses, painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1878, Poverty, painted by Pablo Picasso in 1903, and Paul Gauguin's Tahitian Landscape, circa 1891-1893. All are watercolours ?- the largest is 39cm by 53 cm ?- were all gifts to the gallery's permanent collection.