A Dutch art sleuth who claims he is following two possible leads in the largest art heist in US history is hoping a $10m reward will help track down the collection stolen from a Boston museum in 1990.

Three students chased and detained a man who police believe tried to steal five paintings from a Boston art gallery, including etchings by Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt.

The National Gallery is to pay consultants up to €75,000 to provide an economic assessment that will include a cost benefit analysis on its proposed €50m to €60m final phase of its Master Development Plan (MDP).

Sean Scully is the subject of the most significant exhibition in Cork for many years. Not surprisingly, he’s dismissive about the recent controversy about his work on RTÉ’s Liveline, writes Alan O’Riordan.

After a CSI-style investigation and restoration spanning eight years, the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague has declared that one of its star paintings really is by Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn.

Four terminally ill patients who wanted to see a Rembrandt exhibition before they passed away have had their wishes granted by a Dutch charity.

Peter Murray wonders why, in an eclectic collection of writers’ responses to works on show at the National Gallery the majority of contributors chose pieces that allowed them avoid eye-to-eye contact with the subject.

The invention of printing meant we needed glasses and they led to changes we can hardly comprehend. Richard Fitzpatrick on history’s game changers.

Irish authors have taken pieces in the National Gallery as inspiration for prose and poetry, writes Peter Murray

Begin Again ****

ONE of the striking things from Building Ireland, a six-part TV series that examines Ireland’s building and engineering heritage, is to realise how prominent the country was on the world stage in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A self-portrait of Rembrandt has been verified following eight months of scientific analysis.

Our pick of what’s best on the box tonight.

One of the most challenging pieces of theatre for an actor is how Ger Fitzgibbon describes Samuel Beckett’s Not I, which he is directing for GaitKrash at the Crawford Art Gallery from May 8-10. The production is back by popular demand having been performed there two months ago. Fitzgibbon, retired head of drama and theatre studies at UCC, has been a Beckett fan ever since he was given a copy of Waiting for Godot when he was 16.

Kya deLongchamps says vintage gifts, such as Roman coins, will go down a treat this year.

SEVEN decades are celebrated in Robert Ballagh’s exhibition ‘Seven’, which opens next weekend at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork. UCD recently presented Ballagh with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature to celebrate his lifetime’s achievements in the arts, and the exhibition of 14 portraits coincides with his 70th birthday later this month.

LONDON could be forgiven for resting on its laurels.

Imagine this scenario.

She was a Polish farmer’s daughter who emigrated to the United States, a maid who worked for a wealthy American heir, a third wife who inherited much of the Johnson & Johnson fortune after a sensational court battle with her six stepchildren.

Peter the Great patterned the city after Amsterdam, and even though St Petersburg is newer than New York by almost 100 years, in some places it feels a thousand years old — a few buildings seem to be a cross between Roman ruins and German palaces. The building walls, usually between three and four feet thick, host basement cafés and restaurants where you can’t get a mobile phone signal. The walls are moist, and smell like rivers, because the city was built on marshland.

An underachiever for most of his career, the Tony Martin-trained Pires, whose only previous chase success was recorded over the course and distance last April, landed the featured Cork Racecourse Kinsale Handicap Chase at Cork yesterday.

The North Kerry Harriers staged their annual Ballybunion point-to-point fixture on Saturday evening and Carrigtwohill owner/trainer Don Browne’s Cloneen Storm (11/10) lit up the seven-race session for many by registering a gallant front-running success under a well-judged ride from James Hannon in the open lightweight.

Tipperary artist John Keating has described as a “massive career boost” being selected to exhibit his work during the Olympic Games.

On Ugliness

What I do: I am a soprano and a traditional Irish musician.

A SMALL Rembrandt drawing that was stolen from a Southern California luxury hotel over the weekend has been recovered.

A stolen sketch by Dutch master Rembrandt has been found at a California church, about 20 miles from the luxury hotel lobby it was snatched from over the weekend, authorities have said.

A DRAWING by Rembrandt, valued at $250,000 (€173,000), was stolen from a hotel in southern California in what investigators said was a well-planned heist.

THE royal wedding guests will celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in one of the most opulent buildings in the world — Buckingham Palace.

The Empty Family

Andrew Thornton was quick to pay tribute to Robert and Sally Alner after news of their retirement from the training ranks emerged.

THE intellectualisation of soccer has, they say, always foundered on a one simple problem – football players. Unless, of course, you’re Dutch.

John Spearing is hoping for better luck with Simon when the smart staying chaser makes his seasonal debut at Cheltenham on Saturday.

A “FAKE” Rembrandt self-portrait that once boasted a guide price of just £1,000 is today worth up to £15 million (€19m) after an expert confirmed it was genuine.

Denman put up one of the best performances in recent memory to romp home under top weight in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury.

Global warming experts are using the priceless works of British artist JMW Turner to try to track climate change over more than a century.

DAVY Russell has been booked for the plum ride on Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup second-favourite Abragante at Newbury on Saturday.

Sir Rembrandt could reappear in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup following his victory at Cheltenham at the weekend.

Robert Alner is due to undergo surgery later tonight after being injured in a serious car crash near his base in Dorset, England.

An Irish artist whose work formed part of the multi-million euro revamp of Dublin’s Shelbourne hotel is now opening a major exhibition in the Italian capital of style.

Keira Knightley today unveiled her new movie Atonement as she led the British charge at the Venice Film Festival.