In October, seven works of art worth tens of millions of dollars, by artists ranging from Picasso to Matisse, Gauguin, and Lucian Freud, were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam in Holland at 3 am. Three people have now been arrested in connection with the heist.
Holland
Picasso, Matisse and Monet Among 7 Masterpieces Stolen from Dutch Museum
According to a brief that BNO News translated from the Dutch police, seven works of art were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam in Holland this morning. The massive art heist includes pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, and Lucian Freud, among others.
Is Holland Going Through a Cultural Meltdown? [UPDATED]
You may have seen it in the New York Times: a half-page ad warning readers “Do not enter the Netherlands. Cultural meltdown in progress.” The ad (which apparently cost $26,000) was bought by a group called Dutch Artists 2011 to protest the catastrophic funding cuts proposed by Holland’s Geert Wilders, the far-right leader of the Party for Freedom (the third largest political party in the country). Wilders would cut arts funding from €800 million to €200 million, decimating Dutch cultural organizations. Where does the situation stand now?