The Art Thief

A True Story of Love, Crime and a Dangerous Obsession

Michael Finkel

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Paperback

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English

Simon & Schuster
30 August 2023

Forgery, falsification & theft of artworks; Biography; True crime

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Stephane Breitwieser liked to think of himself as a connoisseur of beauty, and that museums are merely prisons for works of art. Over a decade, he stole hundreds of objects and paintings from all over Europe, with the help of his girlfriend and the tacit knowledge of his mother. He didn’t sell them, he simply displayed them in his rooms for his own pleasure. Then he finally made a mistake that allowed authorities to track him down - but not all of the art. Told in short chapters, this is a page-turning true tale of risk-taking and obsession. Lindy

The true story of the world’s most prolific art thief, who accumulated a collection worth over $1.4 billion. A spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, from the bestselling author of The Stranger in the Wood.

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than 200 heists over nearly ten years - in museums and cathedrals all over Europe - Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than 300 objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in his home, where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable appreciation for art and an innate ability to assess practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtakingly number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop - until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

This is a riveting story of art, crime, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost. As a real page-turner that seems almost unbelievable in its twists and turns, The Art Thief explores the true story of the art collector who went to extreme lengths to expand his personal collection – and the thrill of the heist that kept him going.

By: Michael Finkel
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Export/Airside
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 18mm
ISBN: 9781471186240
ISBN 10: 1471186245
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 30 August 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael Finkel is the author of The Stranger in the Woods, an international bestseller, and True Story, which was adapted into a 2015 major motion picture starring James Franco and Jonah Hill. He has reported from more than 50 countries and written for National Geographic, GQ, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Best American Travel Writing, and The Best American Non-Required Reading. He lives with his family in western Montana and southern France.