YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsMatisse  Thief makes off with
$100 million in art from Paris museum  The five works stolen
from the Museum of Modern Art include a Picasso and a Matisse.
Paris officials say part of the museum alarm system had been
broken since March 30.  May 21, 2010|By Devorah Lauter and Jori
Finkel, Los Angeles Times   As dawn broke Thursday, authorities
in the French capital had egg on their faces and a high-profile
mystery on their hands: How did a thief slip into Paris' Art
Deco-style Museum of Modern Art, across from the Eiffel Tower,
avoid the three guards on duty and slip out with five paintings
worth at least $100 million, among them works by Picasso and
Matisse?  Those coming to grips with the loss said they were
impressed by the feat.  "We're dealing with an extreme level of
sophistication," said Christophe Girard, who is responsible for
the French capital's cultural affairs department.  Others in the
art world were focused less on the thief's skill than on what
they regard as malf