The AGO Adventure
By Arnold Benson
Alice
closed the book on her lap, 1001 Animals: An Encyclopedia for Young People. It
was her favourite book.
She
turned to Michelle, "Ok, I've got one," Alice said, "What do you
call a kitten that's holding a paint brush?"
"I
don't know," said Michelle, "What?"
"Picatsso!"
said Alice.
"I
hate you." Michelle says.
"Whatever!
You're just jealous that my jokes are so funny," Alice shot back.
Michelle
smiled.
It had
been a long bus ride, all the way from Markdale to Toronto. The class was going
to the Art Gallery of Ontario. They were going to the Picasso exhibit. It was a
big deal. Picasso paintings so rarely came to Toronto, that when they did, it
was worth going to see.
"He's
a true master, a true artistic genius," they're teacher had said.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see his paintings. The
Weeping Woman will be there. It's a stunning painting, when you look at it, you
absolutely can't look away."
The
class was excited.
The
driver pulled into the AGO parking lot and the kids tumbled off the bus. In a
few minutes they were inside hanging their coats and getting ready for the
tour.
"That's
a great book you have there," one of the security guards said to Alice,
pointing to her encyclopedia. "I love animals, animals of all kinds."
"Me
too!" said Alice "I read about them all the time."
"Do
you have any pets?" The guard asked.
"Just
a dog, but he's a great dog." Alice answered. "And you?"
"Oh,
I have all kinds of pets, all kinds," the guard answered, smiling.
"Ok,
class, time to get started!" The teacher called.
Alice
waved goodbye to the guard, and the class filed down the hallway towards the
exhibits. The AGO was wonderful. There were works by Colville, Carr, Thomson,
Harris, and even Keith Haring. The students loved it. They walked through the
great rooms with eyes wide, taking it all in.
And then
they arrived at the doors to the Picasso exhibit.
"This
is it," said the teacher, "let's go in and experience the wonder that
is one of the greatest painters of the past 100 years: Pablo Picasso!"
The
class walked into the room. It was bright, spacious, and the walls were covered
in paintings. Beautiful paintings: blue paintings from Picasso's blue period,
pink paintings from Picasso's rose period, paintings with jagged edges,
paintings with cracked, sharps angles, paintings of joy, heart ache, tragedy, triumph,
and jealousy. It was all there, all on the walls, and it was wonderful.
The
class rounded a corner, towards a small room.
"And
here," the teacher said, "is the most famous painting of all, the
weeping woman."
The
class entered the room.
They
stared straight ahead.
The room
was empty.
The
walls were bare.
The
Weeping Woman was gone!
The
teacher screamed and the class gasped. A guard rushed in and pulled an alarm.
All the doors locked in the gallery. The police arrived in screaming police
cars. There were guards everywhere. The Art Gallery of Ontario had been trusted
with one of the most famous paintings in the world and it had been stolen.
The
class wasn't allowed to leave the room. For two hours they sat on the floor
while their bags were searched and they were questioned. None of the students
took the painting, Alice knew that. But the police needed to be thorough.
But if
the students didn't take the painting, then who did?
As the
students sat on the floor of the gallery, playing with their phones and waiting
for the police to let them go. Alice just read her animal book, and she began to look around.
There
was a window far at the top of the wall. It was opened and wind was blowing in.
"What about that window?" Alice asked one of the police officers,
"Is that a possible clue?"
"I
don't think so sweetie," said the cop, "It much too far up for any
human to reach, and besides, it's too small for any adult to slip through."
Alice
sat back down. She noticed the police were dusting for prints. There were finger
prints on the wall near the painting, but they were tiny, they couldn't be from
the art thief. They were much too small.
Alice
sat there as the police searched. No one had any idea what had happened. The
gallery was embarrassed, even humiliated, and reporters from the newspaper had
begun to call and ask about the robbery.
Then
Alice looked down. On the floor, there was some fur, a tiny clump of brown fur.
Alice
stood up. She marched over to the police officer, and she said "I think I
have found your thief.
Go ahead and question all the guards in the building. I
am pretty sure you'll find one with several pets. And I think one of those pets
will be a monkey, a small monkey, and a monkey that has been trained to steal
art!"
The police gasped. The teacher gasped. The students gasped.
The next day, the newspaper headline screamed:
MARKDALE STUDENT SOLVES ART THEFT! MARKDALE STUDENT IS A HERO!
