7/30/2023 0 Comments The artful detective season 9![]() ![]() In May 1986, Cahill and a gang of 10 men broke into Russborough House, the Co Wicklow mansion belonging to Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, and stole 18 paintings worth a total of £30million, including Vermeer’s Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, pictured In May 1986, Cahill and a gang of 10 men broke into Russborough House, the Co Wicklow mansion belonging to Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, and stole 18 paintings worth a total of £30million, including Vermeer’s Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. In 1993, Hill found himself fearing for his life while tracking down artworks stolen by Cahill six years previously. He typically posed as a backer, intellectual or art dealer in his operations, which took him around the world. The case required Hill to pose as an American art dealer, with credentials provided by The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Shortly afterwards the criminals involved were arrested. Five months after it was stolen, Hill was handed the artwork in an exchange at a chalet in a quiet Norwegian port town. The recovery of The Scream was the most high profile of Hill's career. His wife Caroline was the niece of Irish artist Louis le Brocquy. While at George Washington University, Hill held a season ticket to the Washington Symphony. Hill's parents had taken him around art galleries as a child and his appreciation of culture had continued into adulthood. Happy customers: In 2015 Hill was part of a team that helped reunite former Tory MP Esmond Bulmer, of the Bulmers cider dynasty, with millions of pounds' worth of artworks stolen during a dramatic raid on his country mansion. 'From that point on I was a made man,' he added. They were soon raided by the Flying Squad from Scotland Yard.'Įxperts confirmed Hill's belief that the painting wasn't worth more than a 'few grand'. 'I took one look at the picture and told them it was a Victorian pastiche, thinking it was best to be straight with them. It took them aback, but they were happy enough to pour cognac down my throat and took me back to Park Lane, where I was staying. ![]() 'They met me at Heathrow-they thought I was some dodgy dealer who’d just come off Concorde, and we went to their place in Kent. ![]() 'One was an old armed robber, the other an old safecracker,' he recalled in an interview with Garage magazine. After being promoted to desk sergeant, Hill was tasked with meeting 'two hardened old criminals who had put away a painting for their retirement'. The 'making' of his career was, he explained, an undercover assignment in 1980. However this was soon abandoned for a career in the Metropolitan Police. He also tracked down pieces stolen by Irish gangster Martin 'The General' Cahill (right) in a 1986 raid on Russborough House, home of Sir Alfred Beitįollowing a brief stint in Belfast, Hill moved to London to read Theology at King's College. High profile: Hill recovered Edvard Munch's The Scream (left) after it was stolen from Olso's National Museum in 1994. Only this isn't the plot of a summer blockbuster, but the real-life story of the 1994 theft of Edvard Munch's The Scream, which was taken from Oslo's National Museum.Īnd the British officer who found the painting - following a five-month investigation that culminated in a chalet in a Norwegian port town - was Charles Hill, the Vietnam War veteran and world-renowned art detective who has died at the age of 73.ĭuring his 20-year career in the Metropolitan Police, Hill was closely involved in many covert operations, including the recovery of paintings stolen by Irish gangster Martin 'The General' Cahill in a 1986 raid on Russborough House, the Co Wicklow mansion belonging to Sir Alfred and Lady Beit. Local authorities, Norwegian in this case, seek help from their British counterparts and the investigation is assigned to an unassuming Cambridge-born history graduate who goes undercover as a US art dealer to recover the stolen painting. Showing off, they leave behind a note at the scene that reads: 'Thanks for the poor security.' Two thieves break into a major art gallery and steal a painting worth £40million in less than a minute. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood heist film. ![]()
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