Judge Arthur Tompkins will deliver a public lecture on "Stealing Beauty: Art Crime during War" at 6 p.m. Friday, November 4, 2011, at Lecture Theatre 3 in the Old Government Building in Wellington. Across the road from the Parliament, the Old Government Building now houses the Law School of the University of Wellington.

“Art always suffers during wartime. From the sack of the Temple of Solomon, through the many crimes committed against the Ghent Altarpiece (above), and the depredations of Napoleon and Hitler across Europe, this has always been so. This lecture will survey fascinating examples of these sorts of crimes, the people involved, and some of the stories and myths surrounding them. 

“As well as the Ghent Altarpiece, the lecture will include the long history of the Four Horses of San Marco’s Basilica in Venice, the theft of Veronese’s Wedding at Cana, the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, the miracle of the Alt Aussee salt mine, and the bizarre story connecting Goya, the Duke of Wellington, James Bond, and television licensing fees.”