Essay
Film Analysis “The Art of the Steal (2009)”
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- University Of Cumbria
It is a film review of “The Art of the Steal (2009)”
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1Film Analysis
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FILM ANALYSIS
“The Art of the Steal (2009)”
Documentary maker Don Argott explicates how a cabal of politicians and dishonest non-
profiteers conspired to pull off one of the most daring art heists despite the collector’s restrictive
will. Argott has been a producer and a cinematographer and has worked on several films. Art of
the Steal was produced by Sheena Joyce, Lenny Feinberg, and Gary Irwin. The stars of the film
include David Darcy, Julian Bond, Richard Feigen, among other characters. The “Art of the
Steal” is centered on how the popular Barnes collection was moved from its original collection in
Pennsylvania to Philadelphia amidst controversies and intense legal battles. The collection
comprises works by Matisse, Renoir, and Cezanne.
Even though it has made a significant contribution to a historic controversy that deserves
an audience, it fails to explore why easy access to artworks is not completely bad. Nevertheless,
the film is informative, well done, and made a compelling narrative. Albert C. Barnes is the
center of the film, and his collection that created a lot of conspiracies in art, race, culture, and the
last wishes of a dying man, is estimated to be worth $25 billion. The film comprehensively
explains the circumstances surrounding the Barnes collections and legal battles. Barnes made a
fortune in pharmaceuticals from which he purchased artworks from Impressionism to Post-
Impressionism to Fauvism. The collector included in his will that his art collections should not
be displayed in public museums and instead be used for education purposes. The story insists
that Barnes’ objective was to teach through art, and his wishes were disregarded after his death
(Mouton, 2018).
The story comes out as an agenda piece from its title and contents to show that Barnes’
collections were illegally moved with dirty dealings in the background. The main figures are
people from diverse backgrounds including politicians, attorneys, professors such as Dr. Robert
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