More than seventeen years ago, a self-portrait by Dutch Golden Age master Frans van Mieris the Elder, entitled “A Cavalier (Self Portrait),” was stolen from the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. This is Australia’s most significant art theft to date.
A Little History About Where the Theft Happened
The Art Gallery of New South Wales, with a collection of over 40,00 Australian, European and Asian artworks, was founded in 1872 as the New South Wales Academy of Art to promote the fine arts through exhibitions, art classes and lectures. The first public exhibition held at the gallery took place in 1874, the same year that the New South Wales Parliament voted to fund a national Art Gallery of New South Wales. The gallery’s collection had several homes before a permanent museum was designed by architect Walter Liberty Vernon and opened in 1897.
Interestingly, the names of 32 painters, sculptors and architects, including artists Giotto, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt and Velasquez, sculptors Donatello, Canova, Cellini and “Michael Angelo,” and architects Christopher Wren and Inigo Jones, are lettered in bronze below the entablature of the main building. These artistic luminary names, none of whom had any connection with works in the museum at the time, were chosen by Frederick Eccleston Du Faur, the president of the Art Gallery’s Board of Trustees at the time. According to the museum, these names were aspirational, perhaps intended as a challenge to Australian artists. There have been some unsuccessful efforts to replace the names with those of Australian artists.
Several extensions were added to Vernon’s building in the 20th century: the Captain Cook Wing, opened in 1972; the 1998 Bicentennial extension; and the Asian Art Gallery. More recently, in December 2022, a new extension opened, almost doubling the museum’s exhibition space. Just this year in April, these latest exhibition spaces were given Aboriginal names: Naala Badu, meaning “seeing waters”; and Naala Nura, meaning “seeing country.”
The museum today holds an important collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art representing indigenous artists from across Australia in its Yiribana Gallery. In addition, the museum’s impressive collections include Asian art from South, Southeast and East Asia, works of 19th and 20th century Australian artists, European art from the 15th to 20th century, photography, and contemporary art from around the globe.
How the Theft Happened
On a rainy winter Sunday, June 10, 2007, several thousand visitors came into the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney to view its treasures. Sometime that day while the museum was open, a small painting worth more than $1,000,000 USD, “A Cavalier (Self Portrait)” by 17th century Dutch artist Frans van Mieris, was stolen. It is still missing.
It is highly likely that this theft of a small, easily portable painting had been carefully planned. Although there were security cameras throughout the museum, there were no cameras or security alarms in the James Fairfax Gallery, the room where the theft occurred. Nor were there any security guards in this quiet area, a section of the museum some distance from the spaces and galleries most frequented by museum visitors. Perhaps the most tell-tale sign of advance planning is that, at the time that the painting was taken, it was actually mounted on the wall with security screws, requiring prior knowledge, time and the proper tools to carry out the theft.
To date, no information has been uncovered about the location of the painting or the identity of the thief, despite international efforts, including those of Argus Cultural Property Consultants Senior Advisor Anthony Amore. Mr. Amore, with art crime researcher Vicki Oliveri, set up a website, “Stolen Cavalier,” more than ten years ago, seeking information about the stolen painting, all to no avail thus far.
How to Identify This Missing Piece of History
The missing oil on oak panel, painted between 1657 and1659, is 20 centimeters high by 16 centimeters wide. The painting is a self-portrait of the artist, Frans van Mieris. In the painting, the artist portrays himself seated in a chair wearing formal attire and a large feathered cap.
Why This Missing Piece of History is Important
Frans van Mieris the Elder, one of the best-paid 17th century Dutch Golden Age painters, was the leading member of a Leiden family of painters. His works were typically small, seldom more than 12 to 15 inches, and he was best known as a genre and portrait painter, using bright colors, a shiny finish and great attention to detail.
The painting was donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1993 by philanthropist James Fairfax. Fairfax, a member of an Australian newspaper publishing family, was a prominent art collector of Australian art and European Old Masters and a generous supporter of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The same year that he donated the van Mieris’ painting to the museum, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the arts and his community. In 2010, he was appointed a Companion of the Order for his philanthropic support of the visual arts, conservation, medical research and education.
What to Do if You Know Where This Missing Piece of History Is
If you recognize van Mieris’ painting “A Cavalier,” have any information about it, or know its whereabouts, please call us at 1-202-240-2355 or send us an email at contact@arguscpc.com.