In the predawn hours of a gloomy February day in 1994, two thieves entered the National Gallery in Oslo and made off with one of the world’s most famous paintings, Edvard Munch’s Scream. It was a brazen crime committed while the whole world was watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Baffled and humiliated, the Norwegian police turned to the one man they believed … believed could help: a half English, half American undercover cop named Charley Hill, the world’s greatest art detective.
The Rescue Artist is a rollicking narrative that carries readers deep inside the art underworld — and introduces them to a large and colorful cast of titled aristocrats, intrepid investigators, and thick-necked thugs. But most compelling of all is Charley Hill himself, a complicated mix of brilliance, foolhardiness, and charm whose hunt for a purloined treasure would either cap an illustrious career or be the fiasco that would haunt him forever.
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Thanks to this true book, I learned a lot about the art world, the art thieves & the art detectives. The overwhelming greed to try to make millions over famous artworks not easily sold astounds me. A must-read for anyone who’s ever wondered about the art industry & what could be the history behind some of those paintings they have seen in some art …
Charley Hill rescues art. More precisely, he rescues stolen masterpieces. He is Scotland Yard’s art recovery man, and perhaps best known for his role in locating Edvard Munch’s Scream, stolen from Oslo’s National Gallery in 1994. This is the man, and more to the point, the profession, that Edward Dolnick brings to life in Rescue Artist.
Dolnick’s …
Well written. Well researched. Entertaining and informative.
Learned so much behind the scenes of the art world and the way criminals steal artwork. Fascinating!
This book was a very interesting ramble. The author seems to be a bit uncertain if the book is about the lead detective in the case of the stolen painting “The Scream,” artists, criminals, or the history of art thievery. Therefore the book bounces around on these and other related topics. Nevertheless it was an engaging read. I would give bit 3.5 …
Very interesting true story of the theft and recovery of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. It reads like a novel, with crooks,a detective, ransom Money, and some bumbling detectives. If only Norway had learned it’s lesson, but it actually happened again! Photos enhance the story.
The Rescue Artist is a very ironic true story (probably mostly true) that deserves to become a major motion picture. It would be slapstick comedy proving the old saying, “You just can’t make this stuff up.”
The backbone of the story is the theft and (spoiler) recovery of Munch”s “The Scream,” but punctuated by many fascinating digressions into …