Boston Library President: Missing $600K Artwork Last Seen In April '14
BOSTON (CBS) -- The president of the Boston Public Library told the library's Board Of Trustees Wednesday that a missing $600,000 print was last seen in April 2014 when it was shown to a class.
When another class wanted to see the artwork in July 2014, it was gone.
Library president Amy Ryan wasn't told about the disappearance until April of 2015. She said she's "shocked, angry, stunned."'
"This is a terrible circumstance," she said. "When I heard it, the collection manager and I just ran upstairs to talk to the staff about it."
The missing pieces are a 1504 Durer "Adam and Eve" engraving worth about $600,000, and a 1634 Rembrandt self-portrait valued between $20,000 and $30,000.
The library placed special collections keeper Susan Glover on paid administrative leave on April 20. Boston police have said they're looking at several library employees as they determine whether the disappearance was "an inside job."
"If indeed the artwork is stolen, we're the victim of a crime," Ryan said. "That means if the Boston Public Library is the victim of a crime, the people of Boston and the citizens of the Commonwealth are victims of the crime."
Mayor Marty Walsh's chief of staff also spoke at the meeting, saying the mayor was "gravely concerned" about the missing art and questioned whether Ryan was sufficiently independent from the trustees.
The library has begun an inventory of all its artwork and trustees were briefed on new security measures designed to prevent a similar incident.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports: