From Egyptian tombs to Mesopotamian palaces and Mexican pyramids, art has been stolen from its original owners and contexts for reasons including personal gain, use as war trophies, upholding political agendas, and more. In this slide presentation, Dr. Marice Rose will discuss the theft and looting of antiquities in ancient times and the present. The talk will include discussion of current cultural heritage debates over contested objects from around the world.
Marice Rose, PhD, is Professor of Art History & Visual Culture and Chair of the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at Fairfield University. She is a specialist in art of the Late Roman empire, with publications on topics such as ancient hairstyling and domestic decoration. Her current research concerns contemporary artists’ receptions of ancient Roman statues. In 2020 she was awarded the Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences Award for Distinguished Teaching.
This event is being held as part of the WestportREADS 2024 celebration and the selected book, The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel. Explore the WestportREADS page for more.
Art History Research
Virtual Museum Tours
Watch The Duke, about an art heist that changes a couple's lives as part of WestportREADS 2024!
In 1961, 60-year-old Kempton Bunton stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. An uplifting true story about a good man who set out to change the world and managed to save his marriage.
Art Heists That Made History
Kanopy
Learn about a real art mystery in the 2021 documentary The Lost Leonardo as part of WestportREADS 2024.
The Lost Leonardo is the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million. From the moment the painting is bought for $1,175 at a shady New Orleans auction house, and the restorer discovers masterful Renaissance brushstrokes under the heavy varnish of its cheap restoration, the Salvator Mundi's fate is determined by an insatiable quest for fame, money, and power.
As its price soars, so do the questions about its authenticity: Is this painting really by Leonardo da Vinci? Unraveling the hidden agendas of the richest men and the most powerful art institutions in the world, The Lost Leonardo reveals how vested interests in the Salvator Mundi are of such tremendous power that truth becomes secondary.
The Art Thief: A Reader's Guide
Kanopy
Expand your art heist knowledge and watch Pierce Brosnan try to outwit Rene Russo in the 1999 thriller hit, The Thomas Crown Affair, as part of WestportREADS 2024.
Self-made billionaire Thomas Crown is bored of being able to buy everything he desires. Being irresistible to women, he also does not feel any challenge in that area. But there are a few things even he can't get, therefore Thomas Crown has a seldom hobby: He steals priceless masterpieces of art. But does he get away with it?
Art Heists That Made History
Kanopy
Pages Through the Ages is a book discussion group focused on both historical nonfiction and fiction. This month the group will discuss The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, this year's WestportREADS selection.
For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than 200 heists over nearly eight years — in museums and cathedrals all over Europe — Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.
In The Art Thief, Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop — until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.
All history buffs are welcome! Copies of the books are available at The Westport Library patron service desk or electronically.
History 101
History of the World
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, at 7 pm.
The Westport Library and Walrus Alley partner to host a discussion of The Art Thief, this year’s WestportREADS selection. Join members of the community to talk about Michael Finkel’s book about love, crime and a dangerous obsession. The world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, stole thousands of treasures from museums across Europe before law enforcement caught up with him.
Wonder at the true-crime tale of Breitwieser, who stole, never for money, but for personal treasure and adoration. Finkel told Esquire, “Working on this book changed the way I experience museums and commune with a work of art. Breitwieser is often low energy; then, when he walks into a museum, it’s like he’s had a triple shot of espresso. This is someone who’s very parsimonious with his words, then suddenly he’s babbling like your favorite crazy art professor. I would watch his face as he stood in front of an artwork. If he didn't like something, it was a flat face. If he liked something, it was as if he’d been electrocuted, and he’d often look around the room to see if he could commune alone with it."
For copies of the book to borrow, call 203-291-4807.
The Art Thief: A Reader's Guide
Virtual Museum Tours
You've read the book and heard from the author, now you can discuss this year's WestportREADS selection, The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, with other members of the community. Wonder at the true-crime tale of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole, never for money, but for personal treasure and adoration.
Finkel told Esquire, “Working on this book changed the way I experience museums and commune with a work of art. Breitwieser is often low energy; then, when he walks into a museum, it’s like he’s had a triple shot of espresso. This is someone who’s very parsimonious with his words, then suddenly he’s babbling like your favorite crazy art professor. I would watch his face as he stood in front of an artwork. If he didn't like something, it was a flat face. If he liked something, it was as if he’d been electrocuted, and he’d often look around the room to see if he could commune alone with it."
For copies of the book, call 203-291-4807. New participants always welcome!
READ Like A Librarian
NoveList Plus
Discuss this year's WestportREADS selection, The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel. Wonder at the true-crime tale of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole, never for money, but for personal treasure and adoration.
Finkel told Esquire, "Working on this book changed the way I experience museums and commune with a work of art. Breitwieser is often low energy; then, when he walks into a museum, it’s like he’s had a triple shot of espresso. This is someone who’s very parsimonious with his words, then suddenly he’s babbling like your favorite crazy art professor. I would watch his face as he stood in front of an artwork. If he didn't like something, it was a flat face. If he liked something, it was as if he’d been electrocuted, and he’d often look around the room to see if he could commune alone with it."
For copies of the book, call 203-291-4807. New participants always welcome. Room 210.
PageTurners
READ Like A Librarian
NoveList Plus
Michael Finkel, author of the 2024 WestportREADS selection, The Art Thief, joins us live in the Trefz Forum to talk about his book with Ive Covaci, chair of WestPAC.
Hear about the true-crime tale of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole, never for money, but for personal treasure and adoration from the journalist who brought his story to life in The Art Thief.
Finkel told Esquire, “Working on this book changed the way I experience museums and commune with a work of art. Breitwieser is often low energy; then, when he walks into a museum, it’s like he’s had a triple shot of espresso. This is someone who’s very parsimonious with his words, then suddenly he’s babbling like your favorite crazy art professor. I would watch his face as he stood in front of an artwork. If he didn't like something, it was a flat face. If he liked something, it was as if he’d been electrocuted, and he’d often look around the room to see if he could commune alone with it.“
Registration is strongly encouraged. Copies of The Art Thief will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
The event will also be livestreamed on the Library's YouTube channel. Click here to access the livestream.
Michael Finkel (True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa; The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit) is a journalist and best-selling memoirist hailing from Northern Utah. His first book, True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, was the product of a relationship Finkel forged with Oregon murderer Christian Longo used “Michael Finkel” as an alias. The book was adapted for film in 2015’s True Story, premiering at Sundance Film Festival, starring Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Felicity Jones.
Finkel’s follow-up, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, chronicled Christopher Knight, an intentional recluse who lived for 27 years in the woods of Maine with almost no human interaction, surviving by grifting life essentials. Vanity Fair contributing editor and ABC News special correspondent Stephen Junger raved that The Stranger in the Woods was “a story that takes the two primary human relationships — to nature and to one another — and deftly upends our assumptions about both.”
Ive Covaci is co-chair of the Westport Public Art Collections Committee, and an adjunct professor in the Art History program at Fairfield University, where she has been teaching since 2010. She holds a PhD in art history from Yale University, and an MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. She has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan (Asia Society Museum, New York, 2016), Gifts of Gold: Japanese Lacquer Boxes (Fairfield University Art Museum, 2020), and Ink/Stone (Fairfield University Art Museum, 2022). A resident of Westport, Ive has been a member of the WestPAC Committee since 2016.
The Art Thief: A Reader's Guide
The idea for Firekeeper’s Daughter percolated with Angeline Boulley for years, before she became a first-time novelist in her early 50s with its publication. It was worth the wait. Firekeeper’s Daughter was one of the best-reviewed books of 2021, earning raves from NPR, TIME, Entertainment Weekly, Good Morning America, and Publishers Weekly, among many others. In addition, it received the Printz Medal and the Morris Award, was named a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick, and has been optioned for a Netflix show by Higher Ground, the production company of Barack and Michelle Obama.
One week from today, Boulley will join us in the Library’s Trefz Forum to discuss her debut novel, which is this year’s WestportREADS selection. Before her appearance, Boulley, whose second book, Warrior Girl Unearthed, comes out in May, took some time to answer our questions on coming to the Library, her favorite books, and more.
[Related: ‘Firekeeper’s Daughter' by Angeline Boulley Named 2023 WestportREADS Book Selection]
Westport Library: What was your reaction to Firekeeper’s Daughter being named our WestportREADS pick for 2023?
Angeline Boulley: I was absolutely thrilled to be named your 2023 WestportREADS book! Community reading programs are such a great way for people to come together and discuss different perspectives. I especially love intergenerational events that bring teens, parents, and grandparents together.
What are your general thoughts on coming to The Westport Library to speak to our community?
I am excited to visit The Westport Library. A library says a lot about a community — it's evident that Westport values artistic expression and views the Library as the heart of its community. Also, I'm curious about your Seed Library.
There is so much information out there now and so many things to do and places to visit. Against that landscape, why do you think libraries still matter?
Libraries bring people together and foster engagement as a community. It's a place where everyone can access resources and ideas, and [where they] are valued as community members rather than as customers or consumers.
What are your favorite or most influential books?
Fiction:
1. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
2. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
3. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
4. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
5. Chemistry by Weike Wang
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
8. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
9. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
10. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
I'm also a huge fan of audiobooks. Here are my favorites (fiction):
1. Sadie by Courtney Summers
2. The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe
3. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
4. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
5. The Martian by Andy Weir
6. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
7. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
8. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
9. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
10. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
And I listen to a lot of memoir/biography/autobiography/essays:
1. Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
2. What Remains by Carole Radziwill
3. Hunger by Roxane Gay
4. Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton
5. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
6. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
8. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
9. God Said, "Ha!" by Julia Sweeney
10. The Drummond Girls by Mardi Jo Link
What music/musicians/albums inspire you?
Faouzia
Florence + The Machine
Luther Vandross
Martina McBride
MisterWives
One Republic
Patty Loveless
Sister Hazel
Vienna Teng
Yaz
[Related: Westport Library WestportREADS 2023 Freegal Playlist]
Join other members of the community in discussing the 2023 WestportREADS selection, Firekeeper's Daughter.
Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley, is the celebrated young adult novel centered on 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine, a Native teen who must navigate family tragedy, new relationships, and an FBI investigation to root out the corruption in her community.
Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
Firekeeper’s Daughter was named a Printz Medal Winner, Morris Award Winner, American Indian Youth Literature Award YA Honor Book, TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection, 2021 Kids’ Indie Next List Selection, Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection, and PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection.
“A contemplative exploration of existing between two cultural identities meets fake relationship romance meets backwoods thriller in this absolute powerhouse of a debut,” said NPR.
Copies of the book are available for borrowing now at The Westport Library. Firekeeper’s Daughter is also available as a digital copy (e-book) and as an audiobook.
Join Silvermoon LaRose of the Tomaquag Museum for an engaging discussion of Firekeeper’s Daughter. Although this literary work focuses on the Anishinaabe communities of the Great Lakes, the copious cultural nuances described in the book are relatable to Indigenous communities far and wide. Together we will explore this exciting publication and the relevance to the Indigenous communities of Southern New England that makes Firekeeper's Daughter meaningful to so many.
Silvermoon Mars LaRose, a member of the Narragansett Tribe, is the assistant director of the Tomaquag Museum in Rhode Island. She assists the museum's executive director with managing the museum’s collections and archives, cultural education, and the Indigenous Empowerment projects. Silvermoon has worked in tribal communities for more than 20 years, serving in the areas of health and human services and education. Throughout her career, Silvermoon has had the opportunity to travel extensively, learning from Indigenous communities throughout the United States. Silvermoon is also a member of the Rhode Island Foundation’s inaugural cohort of the Equity Leadership Initiative.
As a public servant, Silvermoon serves as the secretary for the Charlestown Conservation Commission. As an artist and educator, she hopes to foster Indigenous empowerment through education, community building, and the sharing of cultural knowledge and traditional arts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with a minor in Justice Law and Society, from the University of Rhode Island, and a partially completed Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from Western Washington University.
Registration is strongly suggested for this event. CLICK HERE to register to attend in person.
To watch the replay of this event, click here.
Celebrate Native American Culture
Firekeeper's Daughter Read Alikes
Local Indigenous Peoples
