Stolen Renoir paintings worth millions could be nearly impossible to sell

Two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir stolen from a small museum in southern France remain missing, but experts say the thieves are unlikely to make much money from the high-profile artworks because selling them openly would be nearly impossible.

The paintings were among four Renoir works taken Tuesday (8 September) from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the last home of the French Impressionist painter on the French Riviera.

Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson said a group of "well-equipped" burglars carried out the theft. Two of the paintings — "Portrait of Madame Pichon" and "Coco Reading" — were abandoned in the museum garden as the thieves fled, according to prosecutors.

The two remaining works, "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and "Young Woman at the Well," are still missing.

Masson estimated the combined value of the four stolen paintings at 9 million euros ($10.5 million).

However, art crime experts say the thieves would struggle to find buyers willing to take the legal and financial risks associated with stolen artwork.

"People always think that there is this kind of 'Dr. No' type from the James Bond movie," said Arthur Brand, a Netherlands-based private art detective who has investigated art crimes for about two decades. "But that's Hollywood. In the real world, there are no collectors like that."

Brand said stolen works, particularly famous paintings, often become virtually worthless once removed from their legitimate owners because "nobody will touch" them.

Erin Thompson, an art crime professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said the chances of the thieves profiting from the Renoir theft were "extremely low."

She said criminals sometimes try other ways to benefit from stolen art, including demanding ransom or seeking insurance payments. But many museums do not insure their collections because of the high cost, making such schemes difficult.

If the works are not recovered or voluntarily returned, stolen paintings may remain hidden for years. In some cases, Thompson said, criminals may eventually destroy them to eliminate evidence.

Brand said he has encountered limited cases in which stolen paintings circulated in criminal networks, including being used as partial payment for illegal goods such as drugs.

He also noted that, depending on local laws, criminals have sometimes used the promise of returning stolen artwork to seek reduced sentences for other offences.

Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International, said stolen artworks can also become bargaining chips for criminals facing prosecution.

Paintings harder to profit from than jewels

Experts say stolen paintings are more difficult to monetize than valuable jewelry because they cannot easily be broken down and sold in pieces without losing most or all of their value.

Jewelry and other objects made of precious metals can potentially be melted down or dismantled and incorporated into new pieces, although experts warn that gems and other components can sometimes still be identified.

Paintings do not offer the same opportunity.

"It's a canvas with some old oil paint on it," said James Ratcliffe of the Art Loss Register. "You can't touch it up. You can't resell it other than for what it is."

The comparison comes as museums around the world face continued theft risks. Last year, experts warned that jewels stolen during a high-profile heist at Paris' Louvre Museum could potentially be dismantled and resold in different forms.

Apart from an emerald-set imperial crown recovered outside the Louvre on the day of the October 2025 robbery, the stolen jewels remain missing.

Security concerns at smaller museums

The Renoir theft is the latest in a series of high-profile art crimes involving museums and collections.

Earlier this year, three paintings by Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse, worth millions of euros, were stolen in Italy. They were recovered last month.

Ratcliffe said smaller museums can be particularly vulnerable because they often lack the resources to install sophisticated security systems. Historic buildings can also make it more difficult and expensive to introduce modern security measures.

Experts warn that such vulnerabilities could lead to more art thefts unless museums improve their security.

"We need to change the way we treat small and country house museums before we lose our cultural heritage permanently," Marinello said, calling for stronger security and enforcement.

"We're supposed to be preserving our cultural heritage, not allowing criminals to take what they want and using them as shopping malls," he said.