Brazil art heist: 8 Henri Matisse artworks among 13 pieces stolen in armed robbery
A dramatic art heist at the Mario de Andrade Library in São Paulo, Brazil, has left 13 valuable artworks missing, including eight engravings by renowned French artist Henri Matisse. According to the São Paulo State Government, two armed men entered the library on Sunday and stole the Matisse works along with five pieces by celebrated Brazilian painter Candido Portinari.
Brazil’s Military Police told ABC News that one of the robbers threatened a security guard and several visitors during the burglary. The suspects fled the scene and were last seen entering the Anhangabaú subway station, escaping before authorities could intervene.
A police investigation team is reviewing security footage and gathering evidence, though the value of the stolen pieces has not yet been determined. The heist comes just weeks after a major art sale in October 2025, when sixty Matisse drawings were auctioned for over $2.5 million at Christie’s in New York, underscoring the high market value of the stolen engravings.
This robbery also follows another high-profile cultural theft: the $102 million jewelry heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris earlier this year. That incident drew worldwide attention after thieves broke into the museum’s Apollon Gallery on October 19 and stole eight priceless French crown jewels.
Authorities in São Paulo continue their search for the suspects as concerns grow about the fate of the stolen artworks, considered culturally and artistically significant.
