Art Crimes

Researchers Anthony Bourached and George Cann trained an algorithm to recreate "lost" works of art like this Modigliani portrait.

Did Modernist Master Modigliani Paint a New Portrait Over a Likeness of His Ex?

A.I. reconstruction reveals hidden image that may depict the Italian artist's former girlfriend, Beatrice Hastings

Rosary beads and Bible belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots, pictured at Arundel Castle in January 1968. Authorities recently announced the rosary's theft from the English stronghold.

Rosary Beads Owned by Mary, Queen of Scots, Stolen in Heist at English Castle

The Stuart monarch may have carried the golden beads—taken last Friday in a $1.4-million burglary—to her execution in 1587

One of the six recovered frescoes depicts a dancing cherub.

Six Stolen Frescoes Returned to Pompeii

Between the 1970s and 2012, looters stole elegant artworks from two villas neighboring the famed ancient settlement

The newly released ID-Art app allows the public to easily identify and report stolen art.

Interpol's New App Combats Art Crime and Protects Cultural Heritage

Amateur sleuths, collectors and dealers can use ID-Art to access the international organization's database of 52,000 stolen artworks

A panel of the "Birthing Rock" petroglyphs in Moab, Utah, prior to its defacement with racist and obscene etchings

Racist Phrase Found Etched on Native American Petroglyphs in Utah

Unidentified criminals wrote "white power" and obscenities over thousand-year-old Indigenous markings on "Birthing Rock" in Moab

This plaque depicts musicians, a page holding a ceremonial sword and a high-ranking warrior. It numbers among the thousands of works looted by British forces during an 1897 raid of Benin City.

Germany Will Return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022

Culture Minister Monika Grütters describes the move as a "historic milestone"

The trove of smuggled artifacts included stone arrowheads, knives and other tools.

U.S. Authorities Return 523 Smuggled Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Mexico

Investigators seized the cache of illegally imported objects in 2016

A new Netflix documentary, "This Is a Robbery," delves into the mystery of a 1990 art heist.

Five Things to Know About the Gardner Museum Heist—the Biggest Art Theft in Modern History

In 1990, two thieves made off with a $500 million cache of art by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and more. Three decades later, the works remain missing

Officials are unsure when the damage occurred but suspect that it took place several months ago.

Vandals Deface 'Irreplaceable' Native American Rock Carvings in Georgia

The unknown criminals painted the 1,000-year-old petroglyphs in bright colors and scratched their surfaces beyond recognition

L to R: Forged works attributed to Goya, Modigliani and El Greco

A Swindler Almost Sold These Forged 'Masterpieces' for $14.7 Million

Spanish authorities halted the sale of the three works, which were falsely attributed to El Greco, Modigliani and Goya

A close-up look at one of the pieces of stolen armor

Authorities Recover Intricate Renaissance Armor Stolen From the Louvre in 1983

An appraiser's quick thinking helped recover the treasures, which vanished from the Paris museum 38 years ago

Researchers used infrared photography to take a closer look at a sentence scrawled on Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Who Scribbled This Cryptic Graffiti on 'The Scream'?

New research suggests that the painting's artist, Edvard Munch, wrote the secret message around 1895

These Cambodian cultural heritage artifacts, once held in the collection of controversial collector Douglas Latchford, will soon be returned to their home country. From left to right: Ardhanarishvara, a half-male, half-female deity from the Angkor period, 10th century; a bronze boat prow from the late 12th century; and a bronze male deity from the 11th-century Angkor period

Collection of Antiquities Dealer Accused of Looting Will Return to Cambodia

The $50 million trove represents one of the most significant repositories of Cambodian cultural heritage outside of the country

Authorities recovered a copy (right) of Salvator Mundi from a Naples man's apartment. Attributed to the school of Leonardo, the work dates to around 1508–1513.

Stolen Copy of 'Salvator Mundi' Found Stashed in Naples Cupboard

The museum that owns the 16th-century painting hadn't even realized the work—attributed to the school of Leonardo—was missing

Authorities recovered thousands of ancient artifacts, including these stone Roman statues.

Authorities in Israel Seize Thousands of Artifacts Looted From Ancient Graves

Thieves stole most of the objects—including coins and pottery—from tombs across the Mediterranean, Africa and South America

Lawmakers voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 (NDAA), which includes legislation that will change how the antiquities market in the US is regulated.

How a New Law Will Impact the U.S. Antiquities Trade

In the name of cracking down on money laundering, a new law passed by Congress will increase federal oversight of the art market and limit secrecy

North American species like the Colorado potato beetle and the fall armyworm have become invasive elsewhere.

Have Any North American Species Become Invasive Elsewhere in the World?

You've got question. We've got experts

Authorities grew suspicious of the man after he claimed to have found 14,000 Roman coins in a Belgian orchard.

Officials Seize 27,400 Artifacts Looted by a Single French Treasure Hunter

The unidentified man accumulated a sizable collection of ancient coins, jewelry, accessories and sculptures

The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg looted books across occupied Europe. Pictured here is a room full of stolen texts in Riga, Latvia.

New Digital Project Details 150 Belgian Libraries Looted by the Nazis

During WWII, a special ideological unit stole some 250,000 to 300,000 books for research and propaganda purposes

The online exhibition "Missing Masterpieces" highlights 12 works of art that have been stolen or gone missing over the years. Pictured here: Vincent van Gogh's The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884), which was stolen from a museum in the Netherlands in March at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Virtual Museum of Lost Art Asks Visitors to Help Track Down Missing Masterpieces

A new online exhibition revisits the fate of stolen or vanished paintings by the likes of van Gogh, Monet and Cézanne

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