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Thieves "run the gamut" from uneducated burglars to college professors, from violent thugs to cunning alarm-bypass specialists. And unlike bank robbers, most art thieves get away clean, with artwork that can fetch untold amounts at auction. Wealthy collectors, driven to own works for personal reasons and certain they can keep their acquisitions secret, will pay top dollar for hot paintings, and dealers (crooked or otherwise) will fork over cash for something valuable enough. "Gallery art is easier to sell because it's not as well-known as museum art," Spiel says. "It's the old 'grandmother's attic' story."
The discussion will be followed by a screening of the Don Argott documentary The Art of the Steal. Wed 11/16, 6:30 PM, 217 N. Carpenter, $15. Tickets are required; get them here.
Related: this compelling Chicago magazine story about Michael Zabrin, a fake-art peddler who became an FBI informant.
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