Program Description
Off the Page Literary Celebration
The Off the Page Literary Celebration, hosted by Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources, features bestselling authors, writing workshops, book signings, and more during the month of November. All Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources locations participate. Events are also held at partner locations like Ringling College of Art and Design, or other offsite locations.
Join one of the most famous art detectives in the world to hear tales from the trenches of his long career solving art crimes with the FBI. Drawing on cases he worked on personally, this program explores notorious art heists and daring recovery operations.
Robert Wittman founded the FBI's National Art Crime Team and served for 20 years as the FBI's investigative expert. Wittman is responsible for recovering more than $300 million in stolen art and cultural property around the world. He authored the New York Times Best Seller "Priceless-How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures.”
This talk will draw on cases that have made headlines over his long career in law enforcement. Wittman’s career has taken him from Spain to extract $50 million worth of Goya and Brueghel paintings from a Spanish mobster to France to save priceless Picassos. He has rescued Rembrandts, Renoirs and even the golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. He will also share his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the criminals behind the century’s largest unsolved art crime, the $500-million-dollar theft from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston.
Led by an expert on art crime, Robert Wittman, this seminar is a unique opportunity to meet the man who has been dubbed "The most famous art detective in the world." Join us to hear about his illustrious career in the FBI National Art Crime Team and the many masterpieces he has rescued.
Disclaimer(s)
Sarasota County prohibits discrimination in all services, programs or activities. View the complete policy at scgov.net/ADA.