Missing Paintings from Freisdam

[Friar]

This is not a basketball posting but is related to SBU. Many years ago, perhaps as many as 20 years, there was several famous paintings stolen from the Freisdam Memorial Library. There was a huge manhunt for the paintings. The FBI was involved in the search.

My question is this, what ever became of this incident? Were the paintings ever recovered? Where they real pictures or very good "copies?" My understanding is these paintings were the real deal. Perhaps from the Manley/Hanley collection given to the university.

[bonabum06]

I recall hearing that one was the real deal. . .a Renoir. The tale I was told is that someone simply walked in, snatched it, walked out and it was gone forever. Had to be an inside job obviously. Again, this is just what I heard and has no factual bases.

[Bona91]

According to the Friedsam archives, a Rembrandt was stolen from the library in September of 1993.

web.sbu.edu/friedsam/archives/Timeline/timeline4.htm#1990

[Ghost of DeLaRoche '75]

Wow, Friar, this is weird.

I was just thinking about that the other day.

It was a real big deal in '93 - but I haven't heard a peep about it in quite some time.

Yeah, Bum that's basically what happened - was there one night and gone the next morning.

I remember seeing the mark on the wall where it hung.

IIRC, it was in the "reading room" on the main floor (I gotta admit I'm not that well versed in the layout of the building - now if it were stolen from the Rathskellar, I could tell you within .001 mm where it hung).

I would think that a Rembrandt would be pretty difficult to "fence". Maybe it's hanging in someone's livingroom.

[Eagle]

I was in a car somewhere and the theft was reported on national news...and maybe Paul Harvey.

www.asianweek.com/2000_10_12/ae2_booksstolenharvard.html

Rare Chinese Books Stolen from Harvard
By Associated Press

Forty-one centuries-old Chinese books and two scrolls worth over $1 million are missing from Harvard-Yenching Library, which houses the largest collection of East Asian books outside Asia…….Sometime this summer, however, the collection was registered in the Stolen Art File, a Web site that includes a Rembrandt painting stolen from Saint Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y., and a 273-year-old Stradivarius violin taken from a New York City apartment.

[DemBonnies]

235dev said:

Wow, Friar, this is weird.

I was just thinking about that the other day.

It was a real big deal in '93 - but I haven't heard a peep about it in quite some time.

Yeah, Bum that's basically what happened - was there one night and gone the next morning.

I remember seeing the mark on the wall where it hung.

IIRC, it was in the "reading room" on the main floor (I gotta admit I'm not that well versed in the layout of the building - now if it were stolen from the Rathskellar, I could tell you within .001 mm where it hung).

I would think that a Rembrandt would be pretty difficult to "fence". Maybe it's hanging in someone's livingroom.

Does anyone remember a Tom Termotto from maybe 78 or 79...he was involved in some art scheme in Rochester around the same time...he was getting loans from different banks and diplaying art in some galleries that he renovated around RaChaCha...he was living the high life (fast cars---big house)until some bank called one of the loans and the house of cards came down.