Last weeks current event study led to some surprising results in our little family poll.  The boys learned about the debate over the Georgia border line and then voted as to whether they thought the border should remain where it is or be moved to where it originally should have been placed over 100 years ago.  We read the facts and before discussing it further we took a vote.  Every one of my boys thought the border should be moved to fix the mistake that was made so long ago.  Daddy and I have the exact opposite opinion (of course) and we had a great discussion which helped us all see both sides.  Very fun!  So anyway, if you are interested, here is our current event study this week . . .

We had talked about this art heist when it first happened but I wanted to dig deeper into the subject when we had more time.  So, now that two of the stolen paintings have been found, I thought it would be a good discussion.  Read about it here:
Stolen Monet, Van Gogh paintings found in Zurich
‘Spectacular’ theft nets $163 million in art
The paintings that were recovered were Monet's "Poppies near V'etheuil" painted around 1880

and Van Gogh's "Blossoming Chestnut Branches" painted in 1890

The paintings that still need to be found are Degas's "Count Lpic and His Daughters" painted 1871

And Cezanne's "The Boy in the Red Waistcoat" painted 1894/95

Interestingly enough, the owner of the collection and museum, Buehrle, was a German-born industrialist who provided arms to the Third Reich during World War II.  He owned at least 13 works of art at the war’s end that were included on British specialist Douglas Cooper’s “looted art list,” which was used to recover pieces stolen from Jews by the Nazis.
This will be another good discussion I'm sure!  We will be:
- Looking at  each piece and reading a little about them from the links above. 
- Talking about the fact that all these artists were a part of a "movement"
- Talking about art looting during war
- Our poll question will be: If you purchased a piece of art - not kowing that it was stolen -  but found out years later - do you think you should be obligated to return the painting?
Righting past wrongs is becoming a theme around here! 
Please share your current event studies if you are doing any!  I would love to hear about it.