AMSTERDAM (AP) — The operation began moments after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam closed Sunday evening. Men removed alarm tags from behind some of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest masterpieces, including "Sunflowers," ''Irises" and the famously crooked "Bedroom," and quickly pulled the paintings down from the museum's walls.
Fortunately, they were not thieves carrying out an epic heist, but curators preparing the works for transport to a temporary location across town where they will be on display for the next seven months while the museum is closed for renovations.
In all, 75 pieces — the cream of the biggest collection of Vincent Van Gogh's work — are moving to The Hermitage, an Amsterdam dependency of the Russian state museum. [more...]
