The “True” Story

Another fictional explanation for the unsolved theft of Picasso’s Femme au mouchoir (the Weeping Woman) from the NGV has been published – Framed – The “True” Story of the Theft of Picasso’s Weeping Woman (Brolga, 2024). It is the fourth novel that uses theft in its plot. The three other novels are Anson Cameron’s Stealing Picasso in 2009, Chris Womersley’s Cairo in 2013, and Gabrielle William’s The Guy, the Girl, the Artist and His Ex in 2016. There is little originality in Australian art crime fiction, with the same crimes turned into works of fiction again and again.

Pablo Picasso, Femme au mouchoir, 1938

This time, the novel is written by Stuart Rosson, which is significant because Peter Rosson (1954-2002) and his partner Margaret Casey were accused of the crime. They were cleared by police, along with many other suspects. Other artists have also been implicated in the crime without evidence. Fictional “true” stories are written by authors hoping to avoid dealing with messy facts and defamation laws. So maybe Rosson’s book has something for the insiders, the people who remember Melbourne’s bitchy art world of the early 1980s.

It is an unfortunate title, the same as the Marc Fennel documentary on the same subject. Fennel’s documentary also covers the false accusations against Rosson, but not the false accusation about another artist based solely on the after-dinner institutions of a prominent Melbourne gallery director that Patrick McCaughey writes about in his autobiography.

I haven’t read any of these novels as I’m not interested in people’s fantasies about the infamous theft. I am more interested in many of the other Australian art crimes I researched for my book, The Picasso Ransom. Of course, there is a chapter on the artnapping of the Weeping Woman, telling the true story of the theft and ransom demands as it progressed daily for two weeks until the painting was returned. But there are many other stories of art crimes in Australia, some as fantastic and ridiculous as that of the Weeping Woman. Another painting by Picasso was taken from the Queensland Art Gallery, the former chief magistrate of NSW was arrested for selling stolen paintings, an ordinary thief once stole what he thought was a Cezanne, and many more stories of art theft, forgery, vandalism and accusations of obscenity. 

Promoting The Picasso Ransom

As a self-published author, I’m still promoting my new book, The Picasso Ransom and other stories about art and crime in Australia. It is a collection of forty-five true-crime stories about the visual arts in Australia, including the title story about the 1986 theft of Pablo Picasso’s painting Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The other stories in the book cover a wide range of art-related crimes, from art theft and forgery to art censorship and vandalism.

To give readers a taste of my book, I’ve posted videos of myself reading some parts from it: “Australia’s Most Wanted” and “The Ransom Letter” on YouTube and TikTok. It’s worth noting that none of the advice on promoting your book I’ve seen suggested planning a year-long campaign. But, an author does need a lengthy promotional campaign for a book.

The Picasso Ransom features current and relevant stories, some of which have even made it to the news. Recently, the NGA returned three looted Cambodian statues. They are still dealing with the aftermath of the discovery that Subhash Kapoor sold a stolen Nataraja to them.

The Whiteley Art Scandal is an upcoming ABC TV documentary that delves into the Peter Gant and Aman Saddique trial. It is based on Gabriella Coslovich’s award-winning book, Whitely on Trial, rather than the chapter in my book.

Unfortunately, Sydney art dealer Tim Klingender died in a tragic boating accident. He was known for setting high ethical standards in dealing with Indigenous art. I had the opportunity to interview him about his discovery of Libertos forgeries.

The only Australian state that I hadn’t heard of art theft in is Tasmania, but sadly, there is now one. Aunty Jeanette James, an Indigenous artist, had a necklace made of Echidna quills stolen from the “Difficult Terrain: Contemporary Tasmanian Jewellery” exhibition. I hope the thief decides to return it rather than hoard it.

Please, buy my book, ask your local library to buy my book, ask your local bookshop to order my book. If you have bought my book already, thank you, and please, write a review of it on Goodreads or Amazon or your own blog.