Dulwich College Picture Gallery 1966 Theft
In the early morning hours of December 31st, 1966 eight paintings were stolen from the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. They included three pictures by Rembrandt, A Girl at the Window, Portrait of Titus and Jacob de Gheyn III. There were also three pictures by Rubens (Three Women with a Cornucopia, St. Barbara, The Three Graces), a Gerrit Dou (A Lady Playing on the Clavicord) and a painting by Adam Elsheimer (Susannah and the Elders). The paintings were worth at least £3 million. Despite the value of the paintings, only £1,000 was offered for their safe return.
An investigation was quick to find out the truth about the theft. Detective Superintendent Charles Hewett found that Michael Hall an out of work ambulance driver was one of the thieves. All of the paintings were recovered and Michael Hall was sentenced to 5 years in prison. None of the other thieves were caught but all of the paintings were returned to the picture gallery within a few days of the theft.
This was not the only time that the Jacob de Gheyn III painting was taken from the Dulwich College Picture Galley and it has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most frequently stolen artwork in the world. It has been recovered in a number of strange ways including in a left-luggage office in West Germany, on the back of a bicycle and under a bench in a graveyard in Streatham. With the popularity of the painting with thieves it is now protected with an upgraded security system.