Art Theft Sparks Search for Works, Clues to Authenticity

MONTEREY — Police and the FBI launched a two-tiered probe Tuesday to find the thieves who stole two purported Old Masters paintings worth an estimated $9 million and to determine if the works are indeed authentic.

“We want to talk to independent art experts to see if these were really Old Masters or just some antique wall hangings,” Monterey Police Detective Doug Sanderson said. “We know this isn’t going to be easy. It’s an interesting case.”

The paintings were taken from a back office of Ray Ramsey’s Auto Italia dealership over the weekend. Police believe it was an inside job; Ramsey’s sophisticated alarm system with motion detectors wasn’t tripped and there was no sign of forced entry.

“I kept the paintings there because the place was like a bank vault,” said Ramsey. For that reason, he chose not to insure the art, he said.

Ramsey, a 55-year-old auto dealer who buys and sells paintings as a hobby, said he was devastated by the theft of the pieces he personally authenticated after three years of research and consulting experts.

According to that research, the paintings were “Guardian Angel” by Spanish painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo and “Mourning Madonna” by Flemish painter Sir Anthony Van Dyck.

The Murillo, dating from about 1650 and worth an estimated $7 million if authentic, was cut from the stretcher bar--a sign the crooks knew what they were doing, police say. The circa-1630 Van Dyck, worth an estimated $2 million if authentic, also was removed from the frame and stretcher bar.

Ramsey said that some art experts in Europe have agreed with his assessment that the paintings are authentic, while others have disagreed. American experts interviewed Tuesday said the question of authenticity--which if proven would result in an important art world find--might never be answered even if the paintings are recovered.