[MSN] Thieving history course debunks art heist myths. Corine Wegener's art theft course's curriculum covers heists ripped from headlines - old and new.

[MSN]

Thieving history course debunks art heist myths
By Holly Miller

Corine Wegener's art theft course's curriculum covers heists ripped from
headlines - old and new.

Although art thefts, like the recent robbery of $163 million worth of
paintings from the E.G. Buehrle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland, often
receive a lot of hype, Wegener said that a goal of her class is to educate
students beyond the news stories.
top ten art thefts

A list of art and cultural property crimes which includes theft, fraud,
looting and trafficking across state and international lines. This is a
looming criminal enterprise with estimated losses running as high as $6
billion annually.

"(Art theft) is just another type of theft," she said. "Art thieves aren't
any more sophisticated or brilliant than any other type of thief. People are
giving art thieves a higher level attention than they probably should."

The art theft course is offered through the University's Compleat Scholar
program, which offers short courses to community members on subjects ranging
from the history of terrorism to cabin design. Program director Lara Roy
said each time the art theft class is offered, it fills up.

"People are sort of curious when they hear (art theft) stories," she said.
"The students get to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and go behind
the scenes with the curator."

Wegener, who has been associate curator in the department of architecture,
design, decorative arts, craft and sculpture at the MIA for the past 12
years, first gained experience with art theft when she was a major in the
U.S. Army Reserve.

In 2003, Wegener was deployed to Iraq to assist the Iraq National Museum
during its recovery from the looting after the U.S. invasion - something
common during war conflict, she said.

"There is more looting during war times because of instability," Wegener
said.

Her experience in Iraq, Wegener said, is what spurred her interest in art
theft.

After being approached by the University, Wegener crafted a course covering
the different types of art theft: History of Art Theft, beginning with the
heist of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911 and covering resources used
to search for lost pieces of art.

University alumna JoAnn Heryla graduated from the University in 1964, but
has continued to take courses through Compleat Scholar. Art theft has been
one of her favorites, she said.

"The parts of the course that are of greatest interest to me relate to how
we deal respectfully and ethically with these very valuable art commodities
when we enter into these military conflicts," she said. "Those are the
things, in the end, that predate us - were here before us - and those are
things that will be here after us."

Heryla said Wegener's experience in the field makes her a unique instructor.

"I don't think we often think about those kind of details when we hearing
about the story of our involvement in various types of military
engagements," she said.

Steven Ostrow, chairman of the department of art history, said it's doubtful
an undergraduate course will be offered on the topic of art theft.

"It's always good to make students aware that is a phenomenon, but in a way
it figures more into pop culture," he said.

Ostrow said he mentions in his courses if a work of art has been stolen, as
it is part of its history, but the subject of art theft, itself, is
anecdotal in the study of art history.

The Compleat Scholar program is planning to offer the course again, if
Wegener is willing to teach it, Roy said.

Wegener said the biggest concepts she hopes students discover during her
course are realizing the different types of art theft and recognizing it
isn't "romantic or anything like you see in Hollywood."

"What you see in the movies - it's a fantasy. There's no Thomas Crowne.
There's no Dr. No," she said. "Art thieves are just thieves and they're no
better than any other thief. They're not smarter; they're not suave or
debonair. They are usually stupid and get caught."

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