Art Crimes

Visitors to the Kunsten Museum view Jens Haaning's Take the Money and Run (2021), consisting of two blank canvases.

Artist Who Submitted Empty Canvases to Danish Museum Must Repay $70,000

A court ordered Jens Haaning to return the money from his "Take the Money and Run" stunt

One side of the amphora, which dates to 530 B.C.E., depicts the mythological figure Heracles fighting the Nemean lion.

Australian Museum Will Return Prized 2,500-Year-Old Vase to Italy

The institution will also repatriate two additional looted items discovered during investigations

Arthur Brand poses with The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring, painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1884.

Stolen van Gogh Painting Worth Millions Returned in an Ikea Bag

Arthur Brand, the "Indiana Jones of the art world," negotiated the recovery of an 1884 canvas taken from a Dutch museum in March 2020

Signs for the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibitition outside the Orlando Museum of Art on March 25, 2022

Florida Museum Sues Ex-Director Over Plot to Profit From Forged Basquiat Paintings

The museum says its reputation was badly damaged by a scandal it describes as "stranger than fiction"

Boston artist Peter Stephenson completed The Wounded Indian in 1850.

'Wounded Indian' Sculpture Will Return to Boston—Decades After It Was Supposedly Destroyed

The piece was rediscovered in 1999 at a Virginia museum, which has finally agreed to hand it over

This triptych by Francis Bacon is listed as being owned by Roman Abramovich in the new database.

Ukraine Launches Database to Track Art Owned by Sanctioned Russians

The searchable list contains some 300 works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci and more

Phin Sokol, the abbot of Khemararangsi Buddhist Temple, performs a Buddhist blessing at a ceremony for the repatriation of three bronze statues that were previously part of the collection of the National Gallery of Australia.

Australia Returns Three Looted Statues to Cambodia

The rare artifacts will remain on display at the National Gallery of Australia for up to three years as the Cambodian government prepares a place for them

Police are asking for the public's help locating the statue, as well as a lamppost stolen from the set.

Thieves Steal Large Props From the Set of 'Beetlejuice 2'

Police are currently investigating the thefts, which took place on the set of the sequel in Vermont

Members of Extinction Rebellion NYC and Rise and Resist gathered at the Met to protest the indictment of Joanna Smith and Tim Martin.

Protesters at the Met Condemn 'Unjustifiably Harsh' Charges Against Two Climate Activists

Both are facing up to five years in prison for smearing paint on the glass case of a Degas sculpture

The Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where prosecutors allege suspects stole Andy Warhol’s La Grande Passion and Jackson Pollock’s Springs Winter in 2005

Suspects Finally Charged for Museum Robberies Spanning 20 Years

Prosecutors allege that nine thieves stole art by Warhol and Pollock, among other valuable items

The front of the newly returned altar panel features St. Nicholas of Bari, St. James of Tarentaise and St. Germanus of Paris.

U.K. Museum Recovers 15th-Century Altar Panel Almost 50 Years After It Was Stolen

The piece was about to go to auction when researchers noticed similarities to another panel at the York Art Gallery

This seascape, originally thought to be the work of John Constable, will be featured in the new exhibition.

Every Piece in This Exhibition Is a Fake

A new show at London's Courtauld Gallery will explore the value of counterfeit art

A Minnesota man has been indicted in connection with the 2005 theft of a pair of Judy Garland's ruby slippers, seen here when they were recovered in 2018, along with the single red sequin that was left at the scene of the crime.

Someone Stole Dorothy's Ruby Slippers in 2005. Now, a Minnesota Man Has Been Charged

While the "Wizard of Oz" shoes were recovered several years ago, authorities hadn't previously named any suspects

This stainless steel scuplture was one of 12 artifacts stolen from the Kelham Island Museum.

'Irreplaceable' Artifacts Stolen From a Museum in Sheffield, England

The 12 items are part of the region's rich history as a metalworking capital

Defendants sit next to their lawyers at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden on January 10, 2023.

Five Men Convicted in $100 Million Jewel Heist That Rocked Germany

The thieves who robbed Dresden's Green Vault in 2019 are members of the Remmo crime family

For the second time, a visitor has eaten Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian, which features a banana duct-taped to a wall.

Someone Ate Maurizio Cattelan's Banana Again

A student in Seoul feasted upon the fruit from "Comedian," an artwork featuring a banana taped to a wall

Portable altar of Countess Gertrude, shortly after 1038

Heirs of Jewish Art Dealers Move Forward With Yearslong Restitution Battle

For over a decade, they've argued that their ancestors were forced to sell valuable artifacts. Now, they're back in court with a new legal strategy

The new app will allow the FBI to crowdsource tips regarding missing artworks.

Want to Help the FBI Find Stolen Art? There's an App for That

A new mobile app provides access to the National Stolen Art File, a database of 8,000 missing items

The heist seemed like a mystery that would never be solved—until a deathbed confession by a career criminal led to the recovery of almost all of the missing timepieces.

The Time Thief Who Stole 106 Rare Clocks in a Daring Heist

Authorities eventually recovered 96 of the lost timepieces, including a $30 million watch commissioned for Marie Antoinette

Created by artists Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues, the Talus Dome is located in Edmonton, Alberta.

Man Rescued After Getting Trapped Inside Famous Sculpture

A 26-year-old man was trying to climb the Talus Dome in Edmonton, Alberta, when he slipped through an opening

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