Suspect identified in São Paulo library heist involving Matisse prints
Felipe dos Santos Fernandes Quadra was arrested last week in connection with the theft of works by Matisse and Portinari.
Law and Crime
The suspect who was arrested last week in connection with the recent theft of prints by Henri Matisse and Brazilian modernist Candido Portinari from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo has been identified.
Armed thieves carried out a targeted robbery at São Paulo’s Mário de Andrade Library last Sunday, overpowering a security guard and an elderly couple visiting the exhibit before stealing 13 artworks in a swift daytime heist. The stolen works include eight engravings by Matisse and five prints by Portinari.
Brazilian authorities opened an investigation and alerted Interpol shortly after the theft. The São Paulo State Secretariat of Public Security later said one of two suspects had been arrested but did not release his name.
CNN Brasil named the suspect as Felipe dos Santos Fernandes Quadra. São Paulo court records reviewed by Urgent Matter confirm he appeared in a custody hearing on December 9 following his arrest.
The records also show Quadra has appeared in prior criminal proceedings in São Paulo, though prosecutors have not yet formally charged him in the library theft.
State officials had said that Quadra was identified using images from Smart Sampa in partnership with Muralha Paulista.
He was found and detained on Alcântara Machado Avenue, between the Brás and Mooca neighborhoods, officials said. Police continue to search for the second suspect.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes last week heralded the use of the Smart Sampa system, which has previously faced international criticism for privacy concerns and potential overreach.
CNN Brasil also reported that surveillance footage shows the suspects removing objects from a car on Rua João Adolfo in the Consolação area before fleeing on foot.
One suspect is seen briefly leaning artworks against a wall before running away, while the other flees carrying sheets of paper.
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Police later located and seized the suspected getaway vehicle, which is now undergoing forensic examination.
Since the heist at the Louvre Museum on October 19, there has been global fascination with similar thefts.
Historic coins were taken from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot museum in the French town of Langres a day after the Louvre heist.
And, a Chinese woman was charged in the September theft of gold nuggets from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, French prosecutors announced in October, as officials faced scrutiny for the Louvre heist.
Thieves later broke in and stole six sculptures dating back to the Ancient Roman era from Syria's National Museum of Damascus, prompting officials to launch an investigation and a review of security measures.
Follow along with other art crime stories at Urgent Matter’s art crime tracker.
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