Why Would Anyone Steal A Lamp?

Hello Everyone:

Every year, billions of dollars of art and architectural artifacts are stolen, often disappearing into a black hole. Why are works of art and architectural elements stolen?  The short answer is the collectors are willing to pay top dollar for work by artists and architects with a certain cache. They sometimes work with dubious sellers, who hire someone or someones to break into museums, galleries or historic places, and take the object of desire.  At the heart of the matter, art theft is a property crime.  If the thief is caught, he or she is charged with breaking and entering; not a serious crime but a crime nonetheless. However sometimes the theft is surprising enough to warrant a some sort of reflection.  One recent case emerged that took Blogger by surprise.

The case is how thieves were able to break into a locked warehouse, steal floor lamps and cushioned chair.  Even more puzzling was why the break-in was not reported for six years?  Blogger has a personal connection.

In 2011, Yours Truly was a first year graduate student in the USC historic preservation program. One of the required courses was a materials of preservation class.  The semester project was a features assessment of a historic building chosen by the instructor.  The building that semester was the Freeman House, in the Hollywood Hills.  The Freeman House is one five houses designed and built by modern master architect Frank Lloyd Wright with furniture designed by Rudolph Schindler, in the twenties, during his California period. Built for Samuel and Harriet Freeman, It is the smallest of houses, about 1,200 square feet, composed of concrete tile.  The instructions were: pick a feature (furniture, electrical, floors, et cetera), fully describe it, condition report it, make recommendations for its care and possible display. Yours Truly chose the furniture because it looked like the best choice. After touring the house, Blogger made an appointment to visit the warehouse where the furniture, lamps, cabinets, and concrete tiles are stored, some in locked room.  Yours Truly successfully completed the assignment and moved on with life, until two weeks ago. A little more background. 

In the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Freeman House suffered serious damage and preservationists realized it would be quite an endeavor to restore it to its former glory.  The University of Southern California (full disclosure: Blogger graduated from USC in 2012) undertook the job in 2000, after years of fundraising activities. Before the school began the monumentous task, the remaining artifacts were moved to a warehouse, near the university.  Some of the artifacts were placed out in the open of the former city power plant, turned warehouse, while others were placed in a locked space. Since then, the former possessions of the Freeman's sat in the dark, occasionally accessed by students (including Yours Truly), faculty, and staff, until sometime in 2012  (latimes.com; Feb. 3, 2019; date accessed Feb. 12, 2019). 

In September 2012, thieves broke into the warehouse and took the floor lamps and chair, believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (Ibid). The thieves could be anyone or anyones; regardless, the fact that it appeared to be an inside job adds to the mystery.  Only the facilities department had the key to the warehouse and there was no sign of a break in or vandalism (Ibid). The break in was discovered by a facilities staff member visiting the warehouse.  The staff member alerted assistant professor Ken Breisch, the former head of the historic preservation program to find out if he knew about it.  No, he did not (Ibid). The facilities staff member said he planned to alert police (Ibid). 

That never happened and the secret remained kept until last summer, when someone's attack of guilty conscience, motivated by a Chjcago auction listing a 16-inch tile, worth $5,000, felt the need to share the secret.  The Los Angeles Times received an anonymous email, with a link to the auction listing, writing, "even if the sale was not connected to the theft, it was troubling.  How could the tile have fallen into private hands when its ownership passed directly from the Freemans to USC,..." (Ibid). The case is now in the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department's Art Theft Detail. However, it makes one wonder what is the university's obligation to care for its historic property.

Kim Cooper, historian and author who runs local tour company Esotouric (estouric.com; Feb. 12, 2019), told Curbed Los Angeles,

When an institution is gifted historical objects, archive or properties, that is a sacred trust.  People donate rather than sell their treasures because they want them to be protected and made available for scholars and futures generations... If USC has lost sight of this obligation, the university needs to find it again and fast. (la.curbed.com; Feb. 11, 2019; date accessed Feb. 12, 2019)

USC has owned the Freeman House since 1986 and is one of textile-block four houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Repairs on the house are still incomplete, twenty-five years after the Northridge earthquake and still has no full time director after thirty years. Further, despite promises, the house is still not open to the public.  In a statement issued by the University described the Freeman House as an...important architectural asset, noting that it is providing regular maintenance and ongoing monitoring of the property while fundraising for future repairs (Ibid). The university also owns and operates the 1909 Gamble House in Pasadena,designed by Charles and Henry Greene.

Last August, longtime Gamble House director Ted Bosley resigned "citing differences of approached between himself and USC School of Architecture leaders over the futur of the Craftsman icon" (Ibid). The Gamble House has been open for tours since 1966 (gamblehouse.org; Feb 12, 2019).  The 8,000 square foot house is secured and well maintained.  The house is absolutely gorgeous with stunning valley views. Contrast this with the Freeman House which is unsecured, disheveled and you begin to wonder why this is. 

The theft has been well-known to people at USC but no photos have been shared because no one knows for sure what was taken. Additionally, two of the textile blocks were taken and purchased on eBay in May 2012 (Ibid). The listing has been taken down and the anonymous collector remembers the seller mentioning that the tiles were taken during the renovations to the Freeman House garage and the tiles were placed on the sidewalk, for anyone to take (Ibid). The collector said that the discarded items are relatively easy to buy because they are not considered valuable by museums and galleries (Ibid). The collector told Curbed,

The general attitude is when it comes to a architectural ornament, when you have stuff like this, honestly, they don't give a shit.... Architectural ornament is not appreciated or handled the way it should be--end of story. (Ibid)

There are online forums to report and track stolen art and artifacts, the provenance of design and decorative elements is still left to the sellers to provide. In this case, the LAPD and various Wright-affiliated organizations should have been immediately notified. No excuses.  Unfortunately there is no main database (Ibid). 

In 2017 the USC School of Architecture named Milton F.S. Curry as dean.  Dean Curry has reoriented the school's priorities to citizen architects--i.e. more socially and community conscious issues (Ibid). Therefore, it is right to wonder where historic preservation falls on the list of priorities.  Truthfully, historic preservation is a social and community issue but the previous deans have not made the care and operation of historic properties a high priority. 

This is the latest in a series of unfortunate events (to put very mildly) that have blemished the University of Southern California. Granted an unreported theft is nowhere near the shocking activities of the former medical school dean or the horrific sexual assaults committed by a gynecologist employed by the university health center but they point to a much larger pattern of egregious behavior.  In each of these scandals, USC administration has tried to keep the matter quiet for as long as possible.  Afraid to scare away donors and potential students.  Too bad, the damage is done. The question is what is the school going to do about it?  The case of the missing furniture should prompt Dean Curry and the School of Architecture to fully committ itself to creating a coherent and cohesive plan for its historic properties so they can be appreciated by the public and future scholars.