Focus on Theft of The Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria and explore the The theft.
On Saturday, 2 August 1986, thieves obtained access to the National Gallery of Victoria and unscrewed the painting from its wall mounting. They removed the mounted canvas from its frame and left the gallery undetected. McCaughey stated that a specialised type of screwdriver, not available to the public, would have been required to take the painting off the wall. It has been suggested that the thieves knew their art history: the method of the theft was an ironic homage to the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. (In 1911, Picasso and his contemporary Guillaume Apollinaire were both suspects in the Mona Lisa theft, but were cleared of any association with the crime.)
The theft of The Weeping Woman was not noticed until Monday, 4 August 1986. The thieves had left a card indicating that the painting had been removed for routine maintenance. Staff had assumed that "ACT" on the card – the initials of the "Australian Cultural Terrorists" – referred to the Australian Capital Territory, and that the painting had been transferred to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Initially it was suspected that the crime might have been perpetrated by a gang of international art smugglers, and the possibility of an "inside job" was not considered.The painting itself was not insured. Then-Arts Minister Race Mathews noted that the price of insurance was prohibitive for such major works of art.
Victoria inside job screwdriver Australian Capital Territory Guillaume Apollinaire The Weeping Woman Louvre Race Mathews Canberra homage National Gallery of Australia National Gallery of Victoria Mona Lisa insured