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Art Crimes

The treasure was discovered by archaeologist José María Soler in 1963.

Thieves Steal 3,000-Year-Old Treasure in a ‘Super-Professional’ Museum Heist That Took Only Four Minutes

Officials were shaken after dozens of ancient artifacts vanished from the local archaeological museum in Villena, Spain. The thieves left only a few pieces from the Bronze Age treasure behind

Pablo Picasso created Torero in 1949.

Cool Finds

A Landlord Found a Peculiar Print Hanging in a Vacant Apartment. It Turned Out to Be an Original Picasso That Had Been Missing for Eight Years

When “Torero” vanished from a Milwaukee art gallery in 2018, the owners didn’t know whether they’d ever see it again. The man who found the etching turned it over to the police earlier this month

Italian officials pose with the three recovered artworks: Paul Cézanne’s Still Life With Cherries, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Les Poissons and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace.

Stolen Masterpieces Worth $10 Million Discovered in a Cardboard Box, Months After Thieves Snuck Into a Museum and Whisked Them Away Into the Night

The artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse disappeared in a three-minute heist earlier this year. Now, police have arrested five suspects in connection with the burglary in northern Italy

Thieves stole three panels (one of which is pictured at left) from Antonello da Messina’s Polyptych of San Gregorio. They also took a small devotional painting (seen at right).

As Sicilians Flocked to a Religious Festival, Thieves Broke Into a Nearby Museum and Stole Four Renaissance Paintings

The missing works include three panels from a 15th-century altarpiece by Antonello da Messina, as well as a two-sided devotional painting by the artist

Golden figurines featuring Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are displayed as part of the art installation by German conceptual artist Ottmar Hoerl.

More Than 200 Golden Mozart Statuettes Stolen From Salzburg Months After Famed Composer’s 270th Birthday

The Austrian public art installation heist is not the first time miniature statues of composers have been stolen

George Box put the stolen kneecap and floor tile fragment in this box he designed for their long journey home to Glastonbury Abbey.

A ‘Scallywag’ Schoolboy Swiped an Abbot’s Kneecap 70 Years Ago. His Widow Just Returned It to Glastonbury Abbey

George Box kept the knee bone, along with a piece of tile from the same site, throughout his entire life. He confessed the origins of their acquisition to his wife in his later years

Three researchers from Santa Clara University hope their new A.I. chatbot makes it easier to research the provenance of art possibly looted by the Nazis, such as this painting at the Musée d’Orsay. 

To Recover Artworks Looted by the Nazis, Researchers Are Getting Creative, With New Strategies Including an A.I. Chatbot and a Campaign of ‘Wanted’ Posters

University researchers hope their new artificial intelligence chatbot makes provenance research easier and more accessible

A portrait of Chagall taken by Pierre Choumoff 

French Customs Detained This Marc Chagall Etching for Two Decades After an Attempted Border Crossing. Now It’s Headed for Public Display

An acrobat perches on a violin in the absurd scene, which draws on the Russian artist’s favored motifs

The gallery, where royal crown jewels were once exhibited, reopened to the public this week. 

Months After Burglars Stole Crown Jewels From the Louvre, the Apollo Gallery Reopens, Highlighting Its Origins as a Royal Reception Hall

Museum officials hope visitors will appreciate the gilded hall, conceived by Louis XIV more than 360 years ago, for its history and ornamentation, even without the crown jewels

Investigators say a man stole Chinese manuscripts worth more than $200,000 from UCLA.

Man Sentenced for Stealing ‘Rare and Unique’ Chinese Texts, Valued at More Than $200,000, by Using Aliases, Fake IDs and Dummy Manuscripts

The works were stolen from the University of California, Los Angeles, over the course of several years

Femme libellule ailes ouvertes, or Dragonfly Woman With Open Wings, made by René Lalique between 1898 and 1900, was stolen from the museum this week.

In the Latest Brazen Heist, Jewelry and Artworks Worth $5 Million Were Stolen From a Famed French Designer’s Museum

A trio of burglars stole 27 pieces, including a dragonfly pendant, from the Lalique Museum in eastern France

Guests examine artwork at Museo Picasso Málaga.

A Stolen Picasso Just Turned Up During a Drug Raid Near Paris, Reportedly Taken From a Storage Facility

The painting has been authenticated but not revealed. Reports suggest it is one of Picasso’s portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter

Aerial view of excavations at the newly discovered villa in Castel di Guido

Cool Finds

Authorities Investigated Reports of an Illegal Excavation in Rome. Then, They Stumbled Upon an Ancient Villa Adorned With Mosaics

In the second century C.E., Roman emperors such as Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius frequented the area where the residence was found

Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan

Someone Stole a Banana Duct-Taped to the Wall of a French Museum. One of Its Duplicates Fetched More Than $6 Million at Auction

This isn’t the first time the fruit at the center of the infamous “Comedian” art piece has been stolen or eaten

Museumgoers can read the labels on the backs of the paintings, which may provide clues about each work's provenance.

Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?

A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners

Cupid Complaining to Venus, Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526-1527

This Renaissance Painting Took a Winding Path From Hitler’s Munich Apartment to an American Journalist’s Home to the National Gallery in London

An art historian recently spotted the 16th-century artwork in a rare photograph of Hitler’s old apartment that was printed in a 1978 furniture catalog

The broken clay tiles were kept in a toffee tin for nearly six decades.

Cool Finds

Six Decades Ago, a Boy Stole Medieval Tiles From an English Monastery. He Just Returned the Illicit Souvenirs

A ghoulish face and a graceful dragon decorate the broken clay tiles from the late 13th century or early 14th century. They were found tucked in an old toffee tin

A marble bust of Alexander the Great depicted as the sun god Helios

Alexander the Great’s (Marble) Head Turned Up in New York. U.S. Officials Say It Was Stolen—and Just Sent It Back to Italy

As part of a longstanding effort to help Italy track down its missing treasures, the U.S. returned hundreds of ancient archaeological finds this week

The duo sold this forgery of an artwork by Native American and Black artist Richard Mayhew for $160,000.

A Father and Daughter Forged More Than 200 Artworks by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and Others—and Sold Them for $2 Million

The New Jersey residents, who face up to 20 years in prison, commissioned an artist in Poland to create the fakes. They got special penalties for forging paintings by Native American artists

A duke in Florence commissioned the fountain in 1559.

A Tourist Damaged Florence’s ‘Fountain of Neptune’ While Attempting to Grope Its Marble Statue on a Dare

Fixing the fountain’s horse sculptures and frieze will cost nearly $6,000. The alleged offender is the latest tourist to harm artwork in response to peer pressure or in pursuit of social media clout

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