On July 12, 1789, a crowd of protestors furious over King Louis XVI’s policies swarmed Madame Tussaud and Philippe Curitus’s wax museum, demanding busts of prominent political figures. This episode led to bloodshed that same afternoon. Two days later, a mob stormed the Bastille, a medieval prison, marking the outbreak of the French Revolution. Soon after, the Den of Illustrious Thieves exhibited objects associated with the Bastille, including an effigy of the notorious Comte de Lorges, a prisoner who supposedly languished there for three decades.  Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. 

Born in 1761, Madame Tussaud studied the art of wax modeling under Philippe Curtius, owner of the most famous wax museum in pre-revolutionary Paris. Sometime around 1780, Curtius opened a special exhibit in his establishment called The Den of Illustrious Thieves, in which he displayed wax effigies of notorious murderers. He had an early hit with a sculpture of double poisoner Antoine Francois Desrues, a struggling grocer who wanted to live the life of an aristocrat whether he could afford to or not. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.

Introducing Queen of Crime: Madame Tussaud and the Chamber of Horrors Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.

Today, I'm sharing an episode of the delightful art history podcast, Who ARTed?, hosted by Kyle Wood. This episode is all about the Stockholm art heist of the year 2000. Find out what extraordinary paintings were stolen from the National Gallery--and how they were recovered. We're back next week with another installment in Queen of Crime: Madame Tussaud and the Chamber of Horrors.

Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.

If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. 

The Perseus of Benvenuto Cellini is justly considered a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture. Believe it or not, this statue almost never existed. From start to finish, sculpting the Perseus proved a Herculean labor, as dogged opposition from Cellini's own patron, life-threatening illness, and the sheer enormity of the artist's ambitions conspired against him. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. 

In 1910, four Abyssinian royals toured the H.M.S. Dreadnought, the most technologically advanced ship in the British Royal Navy. Afterward, however, it leaked to the press that the captain and crew of the vessel had been duped: they had given a tour not to foreign dinitaries but British citizens. The Dreadnought affair caused a minor scandal, and what started as a practical joke threatened to end in legal repercussions for the hoaxers. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.

Today, we're joined by Austin Harvey, co-host of History Uncovered, a podcast that explores the natural world and the world past. First, we'll hear a History Uncovered episode about the mysterious disappearance of indigenous art collector Michael Rockefeller in 1961. Afterward, Austin chats with Gavin about the process of making the episode and offers additional insight on a few key points. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.

Back in the spring, I was interviewed on the true crime podcast, Crawlspace, and I wanted to share that interview with you. Hope you enjoy! We'll be back with original Art of Crime content in December, and season 3 will start in earnest in January 2024.

If you'd like more Art of Crime content now, however, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.

There, you can listen to a sneak peak at season 3, and we're coming out with two new episodes related to the theme of assassins in the coming days.

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. 

In 1990, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman created Assassins, a musical about the nine men and women who have attempted to assassinate U.S. presidents, from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald. In this special episode, we're joined by three Sondheim buffs to talk about why the musical has remained popular--and controversial--since it opened. Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.  If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast. If you like this episode, make sure to check out Kyle Marshall's Putting it Together, the podcast dedicated to discussing every musical by Stephen Sondheim, song by song and lyric by lyric.