The City of Philadelphia Pulled Off The Biggest Art Heist In History
Even though the artwork was the property of the Barnes estate, the city of Philadelphia did not give up on pursuing these priceless pieces. In 2009, the city was in desperate need of money after the 2008 recession. City politicians announced that they were going to take custody of the $25 billion artwork. They showed up with a warrant, and informed the employees of the foundation that they were seizing the paintings. Keep in mind- this is illegal. There is no expiration date on a last will and testament, so the city violated at least a dozen laws in order to just swoop in and steal private property.
The city told the public that the foundation in Lower Merion was going bankrupt, so that was their justification for seizing the artwork. However, this is wrong in so many ways. According to employees who were looking out for Albert Barnes’ estate, he left behind so much money, the organization could continue going for years, and they made plenty of money from their own ticket sales, too. The organization was not in any debt at all. And even if they were in some kind of financial trouble, that’s simply not how bankruptcy proceedings work.
The employees who were running the original Barnes Foundation have sued the city of Philadelphia for the biggest art heist in history. The case had to be filed in the Pennsylvania state court, and the legal battle has been going on for years. But think about it- If you’re trying sue a city, and you have to file a lawsuit inside of said city, how well do you think that went?
Knowing that the legal system was corrupt in this case, the foundation paid for a documentary called The Art of the Steal, which uncovered the details of the theft. They hoped that once people knew the truth, there would be a public outcry, and the paintings would be restored to its rightful place. Even though the documentary got a lot of attention, and it even appeared on Netflix, the lawsuit is still ongoing, and the artwork has not been returned to its original destination.