A Dutch foundation has surrendered ownership rights to stolen works by Picasso, Monet, Matisse, and other modern masters in exchange for a $24 million insurance settlement – indicating a loss of hope in recovering the works intact.  In a trail complicated by a confusion of claims and counterclaims, the actions of ringleader Radu Dogaru are currently being investigated along with those of  three other defendants and his mother Olga, who claims to have burnt all seven paintings in her Carcaliu home, in an effort to protect her son. The trial has been closely watched by the art world in hopes that it will shed light on whether or not the paintings and drawings stolen from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal museum still exist.
Read more: New York Times
