Latest news with #WorcesterArtMuseum
Boston Globe
28-05-2025
- Boston Globe
How an $18 pillow led to the recovery of a $2 million stolen Dutch painting
Schorer had flown from Brussels the day before with the painting he now carried in his hands, a winter scene by the acclaimed Dutch Golden Age artist Hendrick Avercamp. The artwork was stolen nearly half a century earlier in a sensational 1978 heist from the baronial estate of Helen and Robert Stoddard, a Worcester industrialist. The Avercamp picture, along with numerous other paintings and other valuables taken from the home that night, had not been seen since. Local officials were stumped. So was the FBI. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But Schorer had thought to look where others did not. Advertisement Inside the museum, members of the Stoddard family and museum staff greeted Schorer, who apologized for being late. As they gathered around, he and a conservator carefully unwrapped the package, revealing the aged but unscathed picture of Dutch figures skating in winter. 'It was nirvana,' Warren Fletcher, a nephew of the Stoddards, said of the moment. 'There's not a snowball's chance in hell this painting will show up, but through a combination of serendipitous circumstances, it did.' Advertisement Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp's winter scene, stolen in 1978, arrived earlier this month at the Worcester Art Museum. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff The Avercamp originally disappeared the night of June 22, 1978, when thieves broke into the 36-acre Stoddard estate, hacking open sofa cushions to cart away valuable works by Camille Pissarro, J.M.W. Turner, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, among others. The theft has been largely forgotten since, overshadowed by notorious art heists such as the 1990 But the Stoddard theft — the largest art heist in the city's history — was equally chilling. That night, with Helen undergoing cancer treatment at a Boston hospital, Robert turned in just before midnight. The industrialist, he'd run a metal forging enterprise, was chairman of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette Inc., and a founder the anti-Communist John Birch Society, was sound asleep when thieves broke in through the sunporch. The burglars ransacked the home, rifling through drawers and closets. They drank the couple's liquor and ate food from the fridge, according to later news reports. They made their way through each room, snatching paintings from the walls and pocketing collectibles including miniature carvings, silver tea sets, watches, and valuable music boxes. When Stoddard awoke the next morning, he realized the house had been robbed when he found his glasses on the floor. The couple's bedroom dressers had been raided, their closets opened, and, ominously, a thief had left a poker from the downstairs fireplace by his bedside. All told, the thieves stole nine paintings, which today would be worth millions. (Schorer estimated the Avercamp, valued at $65,000 at the time of the theft, could today bring upward of $2 million.) Advertisement Investigators conducted a wide-ranging investigation, but no one was ever arrested, and the crime remains unsolved. 'We never had a suspect,' Ralph E. Doyle, a retired Detective Sgt. with the Worcester Police Department, told the Telegram & Gazette in 2000. That's not to say there haven't been breakthroughs. The most valuable work in the Stoddard's collection, Pissarro's 1902 oil on canvas, 'Bassins Duquesne et Berrigny à Dieppe, temps gris,' surfaced at a Cleveland auction house in 1998. The painting, which reportedly wasn't listed in a stolen art database the auction house consulted, was set to be the sale's premier lot. But the auction stalled when the Impressionist's great grandson, art historian Joachim Pissarro, informed a potential buyer the painting was stolen. 'The auction was coming up in a week,' recalled Fletcher, who worked to get the Federal Bureau of Investigation involved once he learned of the painting's whereabouts. 'At the last moment, the FBI did go in and basically seized the painting, withheld it from the auction.' Helen Stoddard, then 94, was ecstatic. 'I don't believe it,' she told the Globe back then. 'I'm so thrilled.' Helen Stoddard after she'd learned the Pissarro had surfaced in Ohio. Barry Chin/Globe Staff The discovery of the Pissarro prompted authorities to look closely at a Springfield-area art dealer named Robert Cornell, and his ex-wife, Jennifer Abella-Cornell, who had brought the painting to Ohio. But the estranged couple gave wildly conflicting accounts: She said she'd took it from his closet; he denied any knowledge of the painting. The FBI never charged either of them, and an agency spokesperson later told the Telegram & Gazette that reconciling their stories was 'like beating a dead horse.' Advertisement Cornell died in 2013; Abella-Cornell did not respond to a request for comment. Helen Stoddard, in poor health when the Pissarro was discovered, did not live to see its return to Worcester. In a codicil to her will, however, she said she wanted the Pissarro and the Avercamp — if ever found — to go to the museum. A stolen painting by Camille Pissarro, Bassins Duquesne et Berrigny à Dieppe, temps gris (The Duquesne and Berrigny Basins at Dieppe, Overcast Weather), 1902, now at the Worcester Art Museum, surfaced in 1998. Stoddard Acquisition Fund in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Stoddard. Camille Pissarro Another of the stolen works, a small painting by Boston-born Impressionist Childe Hassam, turned up at auction around 2006. But the work never entered the museum's collection, and it was eventually sold at auction. The trail of the Avercamp and other missing works then went cold. Frustrated by the lack of progress and still hoping they might be retrieved, Fletcher, the Stoddards' nephew, finally turned to Schorer in 2021. He put information about the missing artworks in a manila envelope and sent it to the sleuth. Fletcher was by then familiar with Schorer. The dealer, whose Provincetown home was designed by Bauhaus School founder Walter Gropius, is a shareholder in London's storied Agnews Gallery. He's renowned in the trade, and he'd recently discovered a Schorer was only vaguely aware of the Stoddard theft at the time, but as he looked through the envelope's contents, he began to concentrate on the works he found most interesting: the Avercamp, the Turner, and an oil painting by 19th-century Dutch painter Johan Jongkind. 'They were quite distinctive,' said Schorer, who began to scour the internet. 'I figured, even in silhouette from an old image, I could find them.' Advertisement Cliff Schorer, the former head of the Worcester Art Museum board of directors, visits the museum's Baroque Gallery in Worcester, MA. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff His search came up empty. But from his years of experience tracking down stolen art, Schorer knew that disreputable dealers will sometimes misrepresent works to evade detection. 'Finally, I said, 'All right, if I had that painting, who would I fence it as,' Schorer recalled thinking. He knew that Avercamp, a mute painter who specialized in outdoor winter scenes, had a nephew, Barent Avercamp, who mimicked the style of his more gifted relative. Schorer turned again to his computer, this time searching for winter scenes by the famed painter's nephew. Bingo: Fifteen minutes later, he came across a throw pillow that was selling for $18.40 with a portion of the missing Avercamp scene —including a distinctive arch — printed on its case. 'Instantly,' Schorer knew, 'I mean, there is no other painting of that composition.' An image of a throw pillow may not seem particularly revealing, but Schorer had made a breakthrough. The only known images of the Avercamp were grainy black and white photos from the '70s. But this image was in color. It could mean only one thing: The photo was taken after the theft. 'I clicked on that, and it took me to a page trying to sell me a pillow,' Schorer recalled. There, just above the asking price, he also found the logo of the image licensing company that held the source file. Schorer knew he'd made a breakthrough when he found a color image of the Avercamp painting on a pillow. Courtesy Cliff Schorer Schorer navigated to the site and paid $39 to download the photo. As he parsed its metadata, he discovered the copyright on the image: L.S.F.A.L., an acronym for Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts Ltd., a dealer he'd known for years. Advertisement Steigrad told Schorer he'd taken a photo of the painting for Newhouse Galleries, which had offered the artwork at a fine arts fair in the Netherlands in the mid-90s. Working another angle, Schorer discovered the name of the person who'd originally sold the work to Newhouse: Sheldon Fish. Fish told Schorer he'd purchased the painting at the Brimfield Antique Flea Market, a short drive from Worcester. He added that he'd bought the piece 'in the '90s' but hadn't known it was by Avercamp and couldn't remember the seller's name. 'I just thought it was a good painting,' Fish told the Globe via telephone from Peru. 'I took a shot.' Schorer is now convinced the mysterious Brimfield seller was Cornell, the art dealer who was implicated when the Pissarro surfaced in the late '90s. 'Cornell exhibited there,' he said. 'He sold it to Sheldon Fish.' Newhouse Galleries, which Schorer said offered the painting as the work of Barent Avercamp, has since closed. But Schorer managed to access the gallery's archives, where he learned the name of the Dutch couple, now deceased, that had purchased the work at the art fair back in the '90s. By August 2021, Schorer had tracked down an heir to the couple and began firing off a series of increasingly urgent letters. But he received no response. Eventually, Schorer wrote that he planned to go on Dutch television about the case, enlisting a well-known art recovery expert, who also made contact. 'At that point, finally, they came back' to me, he said. Terms of the Avercamp agreement, including the name of the Dutch family, were not revealed. But after years of searching, Schorer finally collected the picture in early May after having it independently authenticated at a meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. The small group of individuals who supported the recovery of the painting now plan to donate it to the museum. Schorer returned home the following day, stowing the artwork in the back of his car while he squired it back to Worcester. James Welu, who led the museum when the Pissarro came home, said the Avercamp's return 'was like déjà vu.' Cliff Schorer, left, inspects the recovered painting with conservator Matthew Cushman. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Current museum director Matthias Waschek called it 'profoundly meaningful.' 'Not only because a long-lost work of art has been returned to the family that once owned it,' he said in a statement, 'but because it reflects the enduring bond between the Stoddard family and the Worcester Art Museum.' During a meeting last week, Schorer marveled at the overall condition of the painting with conservator Matthew Cushman. The yellowed varnish will need to be addressed, Cushman said, and there may be some minor retouching before he applies a new coat of varnish. Otherwise, the painting is almost exactly as it was described in a conservator's report from 1977. But Schorer was already thinking about other missing works from the Stoddard collection, saying he plans to focus on the nexus revealed by the recovered Avercamp and Pissarro. 'That's the exciting part,' he said. 'There's a whole number of threads now that I can unravel.' Malcolm Gay can be reached at
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Conan O'Brien loved this Worcester museum as a kid: 'Greatest days of my life."
Late night legend Conan O'Brien just made a deep-cut reference only Massachusetts fans might get. During his podcast, "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," O'Brien was telling a seemingly fictitious story about his podcast co-host, Sona Movsesian, walking out of a museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, wearing a stolen suit of armor, then attempting to recall the name of the establishment before one of his staff shouted it out to him. "Yes!" O'Brien, born in 1963, said. "Higgins Armory, it was the one thing, when I would go to visit my cousins." O'Brien is originally from Brookline, Mass. O'Brien then said that he and his cousins would ask his aunt what they would be doing on a rainy Worcester day, she would drive them to the now-defunct Higgins Armory Museum. "And there was no attempt to make it look interesting," O'Brien said. "Just literally a giant warehouse then, and someone had lots of suits of armor that they just laid out. They didn't even have mannequins in them." Movsesian then said that Brookline comedian would have loved something like that and asked if he was pretending not to like it because he was trying to be cool in front of his cousins. "Truth be told? Greatest days of my life," O'Brien said. "Boy, did this little orange-haired boy love a suit of armor." O'Brien also said that fans should visit the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester. Unfortunately, the Higgins Armory Museum closed near the end of 2013 due to a lack of funds, after being open since 1931. The building where the museum operated is now a venue that can be rented out for events. The Higgins Armory Collection was transferred to the Worcester Art Museum. It is the second-largest collection of its kind in the Americas. Comprising arms, armor and metalwork from around the world and from antiquity to the 19th century, the collection is particularly known for its rare grouping of suits of plate armor from 15th- to 17th-century Europe. However, there still may be hope for both the intrepid armor enthusiast and, possibly, O'Brien, if he were to choose to relive his adolescent days of wonder. The Worcester Art Museum has unveiled updated design plans for its keenly awaited new Arms and Armor Galleries, which it says are under construction and will open in late 2025. Learn more: Worcester Art Museum updates plans for showcasing Higgins Armory Collection Richard Duckett contributed to the reporting of this article. Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@ This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Conan O'Brien said 'greatest days' of his life spent at Worcester spot
Boston Globe
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Japanese prints, Cirque du Soleil, and must-see spots around the Bay State
See more than 35 Japanese prints — many on public view for the first time — at a new exhibition opening at the Worcester Art Museum called 'Reflections of a Changing Japan: The Evolution of Shin Hanga.' The show, running March 29 through June 29, focuses on Shin Hanga, a Japanese printmaking movement from the early 1900s, and the cultural shifts happening as this style emerged. Shin Hanga (or 'new prints') developed as a revival of the traditional ukiyo-e style of printmaking from Japan's Edo period, yet it reflected more modern-day subject matter and techniques that appealed to international tastes — particularly American and European interests. The exhibition is organized into four sections: Early Prints focuses on traditional ukiyo-e subjects such as landscapes, women, and kabuki actors; Contemporary Inspiration looks at how artists incorporated 'western' techniques, such as perspective, shading, and naturalism; New Horizons includes works created by Shin Hanga artists during their travels abroad, particularly depictions of foreign landscapes such as the Rockies and Grand Canyon; and Shin Hanga: Decline and Reinterpretations examines the waning interest in printmaking after World War II and how artists started incorporating contemporary themes and abstract elements. Admission: free for 17 and under to $18 for 18 and older. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Neon Museum and Cirque du Soleil have teamed up to present 'Stories from Backstage: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas,' a free exhibition on view through May 1 at the city hall's Grand Gallery. Handout/Getty Images for The Neon Museum Advertisement THERE What makes Cirque du Soleil shine Get a behind-the-scenes look at the innovation and artistry that drives Las Vegas' Cirque du Soleil productions. The Neon Museum and Cirque du Soleil have teamed up to present 'Stories from Backstage: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas,' a free exhibition on view through May 1 at the city hall's Grand Gallery. The exhibition includes iconic costumes, makeup designs, acrobatic shoes, 3-D-printed fabrics, and other artifacts from its five current Vegas shows: 'Mystère,' 'O,' 'Mad Apple,' 'KÀ,' and 'Michael Jackson ONE.' See the Red Bird costume from 'Mystère,' the Moonhead headpiece from 'O,' the acrobatic shoes used in the Wheel of Death act from 'Mad Apple,' for instance. Discover how athletes transform into artists, performers embody characters, and cutting-edge technology shapes costume evolution — and learn about backstage secrets that help make these show dazzle. The exhibition is open Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Also, don't miss the museum's Duck Duck Shed event, April 24-27, which includes behind-the-scene tours and discussions of the city's architecture and design. Advertisement Kim Foley MacKinnon's new book '100 Things to Do in Massachusetts Before You Die' offers 100 must-do places to see or experience organized into five categories: food and drink, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, culture and history, shopping and fashion. Handout EVERYWHERE New book highlights must-see spots around the Bay State Whether you're a local or visitor, you'll appreciate the lineup in '100 Things to Do in Massachusetts Before You Die,' a new book by Boston resident Kim Foley MacKinnon that offers fun facts and top picks across the Bay State. MacKinnon's admittedly subjective selections hit the highlights across the state, offering 100 must-do places to see or experience that are organized into five categories: food and drink, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, culture and history, shopping and fashion. Each item includes a one-page writeup full of history, background, or tantalizing facts from the well-known to the obscure. (Dorchester, for example, was home to America's first chocolate mill, which provided the chocolate for the original Boston cream pie.) Helpful call-out boxes throughout the book offer mini roundups and interesting tips — for instance, you can get into the Isabella Stewart Museum for free if you're name is Isabella (who knew?). The book still leans toward Eastern Mass. — less than 20 percent of the to-do items take you outside of Cape Cod and the Route 495 bubble — but you'll find worthwhile music and cultural offerings that will draw you to Worcester, Sturbridge, Lenox, and beyond. Each entry typically includes contact and website info. $22.50. KARI BODNARCHUK Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at
Korea Herald
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
The right impression
Exhibition of impressionists, cafe with view and hot dating spot Lasting impression 'Frontiers of Impressionism: Paintings from the Worcester Art Museum' is running at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido through May 26. The exhibition features 53 paintings from 39 impressionists, who favored sketching the fleeting over the eternal, everyday life over the grand and indoors over outdoors when recording their view of the 19th century world. Starting with 'Water Lilies' by French impressionism pioneer Claude Monet, the exhibition looks at how the movement that valued lighter palettes and loose brushwork spread from France to the US. The paintings also demonstrate how the initial focus on depicting French landscapes expanded to embrace different subjects. Also on display are works embracing tonalism, an American art movement that focused on portraying the overall mood of landscapes rather than their details. A brief explanation of each work next to the paintings are helpful for visitors unfamiliar with art. Admission is 20,000 won for adults. The gallery is open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday-Thursday, closing 30 minutes later Friday-Sunday. Stunning view at heart of Myeongdong Amid the bustling streets of Myeongdong, central Seoul, filled with countless restaurants, shops and department stores, there is a tranquil escape — cafe Pines. Though the indoor seating area is limited to just seven tables, the true highlight of the cafe is its outdoor terrace. From this spot, visitors can enjoy an unobstructed view of Myeongdong Cathedral, one of Seoul's most iconic landmarks. Myeongdong Cathedral, one of Korea's most iconic Gothic-style churches, took six years to build, from 1892 to 1898. The cathedral sits atop Myeongdong Hill, a historically significant site that was once home to Kim Beom-woo Thomas, Korea's first Catholic martyr. This site holds deep meaning in the history of Korean Catholicism. Built with antique red bricks, the cathedral stands out amidst the surrounding modern buildings, making it a visually captivating landmark in the heart of Seoul. Cafe Pines offers an extensive coffee menu featuring espresso con panna and espresso Sale, as well as a selection of teas, ades, and desserts. The cafe is open 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., year-round. Spend a stylish night at 'Single's Inferno' dating spot For a special evening in Seoul, make your way to Arch Seoul, a dining destination nestled in the trendy streets of Samgakji. This restaurant, the date spot for Yuk Jun-seo and Lee Si-an from Netflix's hit dating show "Single's Inferno" Season 4, boasts an expansive 400 square meters framed by towering arches and luxurious terraces. The menu presents a delightful fusion of European and Korean flavors. A diverse European selection including gambas, pastas and risottos is available along with comforting Korean staples such as kimchi fried rice and tteokbokki. A standout dish is the octopus set, featuring grilled octopus with romesco sauce. The wine list is extensive and the staff are eager to assist with pairing recommendations. Arch Seoul is also a pet-friendly haven, but note that only medium-sized and smaller dogs are permitted indoors, and carriers or strollers are required. For those with larger dogs, a spacious terrace is available. Arch Seoul is open daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. The restaurant offers food service until 10 p.m. and reservations can be made via Naver or Catchtable. siyoungchoi@ jy@
Boston Globe
31-01-2025
- Boston Globe
Worcester Art Museum to return two Greek antiquities to Italy, where they were likely removed illegally
Advertisement The objects in question — a ceramic Black-figure amphora (storage jar), attributed to the Rycroft Painter, about 515-500 BCE. Worcester Art Museum Daniel Healey, WAM's inaugural provenance research specialist, said he was alerted to potential problems in the objects' provenances when he discovered Borowski had acquired both objects from the late 'That's quite a big red flag,' said Healey, who along with Whitner decided to take a 'proactive approach,' sending photographs and other information to the Italian authorities. 'They got back to us and basically said, yes, these are matches to our database of looted and stolen items.' He added that the museum did not ask to see Italy's files on the objects. 'We're trying to do the right thing by Italy and uphold our own standards of collecting,' he said. 'We trusted them and took their word. Obviously, the outcome was very good, because we now have this agreement with them, which is quite exciting.' Dr. Paolo D'Angeli, head of the department of general affairs of the Italian Ministry of Culture, praised the Worcester museum's 'ethical integrity' in researching objects in its collections while 'understanding that the findings could potentially indicate illicit provenance.' Advertisement 'The Ministry of Culture can only express its utmost appreciation for the Museum's voluntary decision to return' the objects to Italy, he said in a statement. 'This gesture marks the beginning of an agreement that will engage the Museum and the Italian Ministry of Culture in a fruitful policy of loans and cultural exchanges.' Under the terms of the agreement, the Worcester museum has transferred ownership of the two objects to Italy, which has in turn agreed to loan them to WAM for a period between four and eight years. WAM will then return the antiquities to Italy in exchange for a loan of equivalent objects from Italian museums. The loans will recur on a rotating basis. The Worcester Art Museum announced it would hire a provenance researcher after the Manhattan district attorney's office seized an ancient bronze bust from the museum in 2023 as The storage jar and drinking cup, which were taken off view for planned gallery renovations, will go on view this Saturday in the museum's new highlights gallery. He added that although WAM 'is not actively acquiring antiquities,' the new agreement will enable the museum to display new works of art from the ancient world. 'The opportunity to get really high-quality objects from Italian museums is very exciting,' he said. 'We don't lose an object and get nothing in return.' Malcolm Gay can be reached at
