01 HISTORICAL DOSSIERS
Still Missing
The artworks still sought. The families still searching.
Explore the cases
Global Archive of Art Theft, Forgery & Restitution
Explore documented cases of stolen art, art forgery, recovery and restitution worldwide, along with related court disputes. Every report links to its source.
Six countries · a global watch
Live clocksArt crime across time zones
Clocks show the time now. Below each clock: the latest documented case in that country from our archive.
Red mark: source-reported theft time. An arc shows a reported time window on the outer 24-hour scale. Only shown where timing is documented.
“Published” is the report date, not the theft date. Cases may cover thefts, recoveries or returns. Click a clock for the case details and source.
Why these six countries? · Data published in 2023
These are the six leading countries in an INTERPOL register snapshot published by a Cornell Data Journal team on 16 December 2023. Counts refer to objects registered as stolen, not theft incidents. This historical snapshot is not a current, comprehensive worldwide ranking.
- France8,133 objects
- Italy7,721 objects
- Turkey3,034 objects
- Iraq2,786 objects
- Belgium2,336 objects
- Netherlands1,756 objects
Published analysis ↗Underlying data table ↗About the INTERPOL register ↗
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All countriesThefts around the world
Art Theft Map
Explore reported theft locations in the archive. Pins are approximate; dates refer to source reports. A historical theft report does not mean the artwork is still missing.
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Choose a pin to see the story and artwork.
Drag to pan; use + / − to zoom. This map shows reports in this archive, not all art thefts worldwide.
Browse the reports on this map (128)
- ArgentinaBronze elements stolen from Güemes monument
- AustraliaStolen Ermenegildo Zegna trophy remains missing despite reward
- AustraliaSparkly Bear sculpture stolen with a truck and crane in Brunswick
- AustraliaSir Joseph Banks memorial sculpture stolen from Canberra gardens
- AustriaPolice investigate disappearance of more than 200 Mozart figures in Salzburg
- AustriaErnst Fuchs Museum increases reward for stolen painting
- AustriaErnst Fuchs’s Daphne bronze missing from Vienna exhibition
- AustriaPierre-Auguste Renoir painting stolen from Vienna’s Dorotheum auction house
- BelgiumRenaissance Madonna stolen from a church in Zele
- BelgiumEnsor, Van Dongen and other works stolen from Van Buuren Museum
- BrazilMatisse and Portinari works stolen from library
- BrazilDalí, Matisse, Monet and Picasso works stolen from Rio museum
- CanadaTimothy Schmalz’s bronze figure of Jesus stolen from Surrey school
- CanadaBronze sculpture valued at about C$175,000 stolen in central Waterloo
- CanadaSecwépemc landmark sculpture stolen from Tappen Bluffs
- CanadaThree Maud Lewis painted Christmas cards reported stolen in Halifax
- CanadaBronze statue of St. Teresa of Avila stolen from Ancaster cemetery
- CanadaRichard Forbes bronze horse head stolen from Vancouver gallery
- CanadaJellyfish sculpture stolen from Calgary’s Beakerhead festival
- CanadaJohn Greer’s bronze Feather stolen from Guelph sculpture park
- CanadaSuzor-Coté oil painting stolen from Halifax gallery
- CanadaGolden egg stolen from Salvador Dalí’s Space Venus
- CanadaA.Y. Jackson landscape stolen from Toronto home
- CanadaBanksy’s Trolley Hunters stolen from Toronto exhibition
- CyprusFilippos Giapanis’s Balance stolen from Cyprus sculpture park
- CyprusBronze sparrow stolen again from Yiota Ioannidou’s Paphos sculpture
- EgyptVan Gogh’s Poppy Flowers stolen in Egypt
- FranceSalvador Dalí bronze book cover stolen
- FranceLouvre jewels added to INTERPOL stolen art database
- FranceThe theft of five masterpieces from the Musée d’Art moderne de Paris
- FranceFernando Botero's Maternity stolen from a Paris gallery
- FranceChinese and Thai artworks stolen from Fontainebleau palace
- FranceA red Picasso sketchbook disappears from the Paris museum
- FrancePicasso paintings stolen from granddaughter’s home
- GermanyLife-size bronze of a seated woman stolen from an Essen cemetery
- GermanyWooden wild boar sculpture stolen from Werl playground
- GermanyHans Arp bronze reported stolen at Art Cologne
- GermanyPolice seek Ernst Sauer’s stolen bronze Der Liegende
- GermanyLife-size bronze woman stolen from a Duisburg family grave
- GermanyPolice seek untitled Elfi Frauendorf work stolen in Berlin
- GermanyPainting of golfers stolen in Berlin burglary
- GermanyIris Ulbricht’s Murmel stolen from Berlin exhibition
- GermanyBronze Pine figure reported stolen in Pirna
- GermanyOil painting stolen from an office in Berlin-Steglitz
- GermanyTwo de Belsunce portraits stolen in Berlin
- GermanyBronze angel sculpture stolen from Rostock cemetery
- GermanyLunita July Dorn painting stolen during Berlin opening
- GermanyRuthild Hahne bronze head stolen in Berlin
- GermanySeven Jean-Noel Schramm watercolours stolen from Berlin hospital
- GermanyNine Itamar Zion Yehiel embroideries stolen in Berlin
- GermanyOil painting of a monk with a jug stolen in Berlin
- GermanyHeinrich Martens bronze girl stolen from Monheim civic centre
- GermanyNeureuther’s 1827 view of Munich stolen from storage
- GermanyCharles Fazzino porcelain apple stolen from a Hamburg gallery
- GermanyErik van Lieshout and Andy Hope 1930 paintings stolen in Berlin
- GermanyBalthasar Lobo’s Mutter mit Kind stolen in Berlin foundry burglary
- GermanyRoland Lindner bronze heron stolen from a Berlin-Frohnau garden
- GermanyTwo Dave the Chimp drawings stolen from Berlin exhibition
- GermanyFrau am Fluss bronze stolen from Duisburg’s Goerdeler Park
- GermanySix sculptures stolen from Bochum’s Stadtpark
- GermanyReinhold Böltzig’s Reifenwerferin stolen from former embassy grounds
- GermanyElena Panknin bronze sculpture stolen during Berlin exhibition opening
- GermanyHeavy bronze seal sculpture stolen from Wilhelmshaven storage yard
- GermanyRichie Culver’s Contemplation stolen from a Berlin auction house
- GermanyLore Plietzsch’s flute-playing children bronze stolen in Berlin
- GermanyPaul van Hoeydonck’s Man in Space stolen from Berlin gallery
- GermanyWilliam N. Copley work stolen from Berlin-Mitte gallery
- GermanyTwo Bruno Bielefeld paintings sought after Berlin residential theft
- GermanyGhada Amer ceramic sculpture taken from a Berlin gallery
- GermanyPolice seek witnesses after Dresden’s Green Vault jewel theft
- GermanyReward campaign seeks Lucian Freud’s stolen Francis Bacon portrait
- Israel27 artworks stolen from the Wilfrid Israel Museum
- IsraelRodin bronze stolen from the Israel Museum
- ItalyFour Renaissance artworks stolen from museum in Messina
- ItalyRenoir, Cézanne and Matisse paintings stolen from private museum
- ItalyThieves take a decoy after police safeguard a Brueghel Crucifixion
- JapanTwo bronze statues stolen from a Tokyo public park
- NetherlandsTwo Andy Warhol prints stolen from gallery
- NetherlandsFrans Hals’s Two Laughing Boys stolen again
- NetherlandsVan Gogh painting stolen from Singer Laren
- NetherlandsSeven works stolen from Kunsthal Rotterdam
- New ZealandKarin de Beer's Tiori Toru stolen from Whangārei's Hundertwasser Art Centre
- New ZealandPrivate reward offered after Harawene dog sculpture theft
- New ZealandTwo Gottfried Lindauer portraits stolen in Auckland gallery ram raid
- South AfricaReward advertised for paintings stolen in Pretoria hijacking
- SwedenDalí sculptures and etchings stolen in Stockholm gallery raid
- SwedenRoyal funeral crowns and orb stolen from Strängnäs Cathedral
- SwitzerlandUp to €1 million advertised for paintings stolen in Valais
- SwitzerlandInsurers consider reward for stolen Lausanne-Vidy museum coins
- United KingdomLipton Cup still missing; arrested man released without charge
- United KingdomCourt summons issued after hedgehog statue theft
- United KingdomClare Haggas’s Making Amends stolen at Cheltenham Festival
- United KingdomBronze deer stolen from outside a Lyndhurst property
- United KingdomTeddy Baldock bronze statue stolen from Langdon Park
- United KingdomMore than 600 objects stolen from Bristol Museums storage
- United KingdomNelson Mandela print stolen from Liverpool’s St George’s Hall
- United KingdomBronze Dalmatian sculpture stolen in Sudbury
- United KingdomAnne Curry bronze sculpture stolen from her garden
- United KingdomDorset Police seek paintings stolen from Lyme Regis art studio
- United KingdomHenry the bronze stag stolen from Alison Cork’s London home
- United KingdomLeaping-woman statue stolen from The Grove Hotel grounds
- United KingdomJapanese bronze hawk incense burner stolen from Alton auction house
- United KingdomSarah Księska’s Präparat stolen during London Frieze week
- United KingdomGrayson Perry’s Alien Baby stolen from Bristol’s Hidden Gallery
- United KingdomTwenty lead statues stolen from a Moreton-in-Marsh estate
- United KingdomBronze lion stolen from Born Free outdoor exhibition in Bristol
- United KingdomChrist Church theft: Van Dyck, Carracci and Rosa
- United KingdomTwo Polly Rome bronze sculptures stolen from a Rockbourne home
- United KingdomMaurizio Cattelan’s gold toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace
- United KingdomBronze hare statues stolen from a Goodworth Clatford garden
- United KingdomHenry Moore bronze stolen from Glenkiln Sculpture Park
- United KingdomReward advertised after Barbara Hepworth sculpture theft
- United KingdomOver 100 gold boxes and precious objects stolen from Waddesdon Manor
- United StatesPortland police seek stolen miniature horse figurines after arrest
- United StatesKwan Wu’s bronze figure of an Osage woman stolen in Kansas City
- United StatesJeffrey Laudenslager offers reward after kinetic sculpture theft
- United StatesSix paintings stolen in Dallas during transport
- United StatesSalvador Dalí etching stolen from San Francisco gallery
- United StatesThree Kieron Williamson paintings stolen in Arizona
- United StatesVivienne Scholl photograph stolen from Madrone Art Bar
- United StatesChez Tortoni and the works stolen from the Gardner Museum
- United StatesAnn Pibal’s CBLT taken from New York’s Team Gallery
- United StatesGinny: reward advertised for sculpture stolen in 1980
- United StatesSam Tufnell’s Electric Blueberry gnome stolen from Florida museum
- United StatesSeven Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup I prints stolen from Springfield Art Museum
- United StatesReward doubled for Mother and Child sculpture stolen in Eau Claire
- United StatesFBI appeals for Renoir stolen in Houston armed robbery
- United StatesEleven Warhol portraits stolen from a Los Angeles home
The stories behind the art
Explore all stories Stolen. Sought. Found.
2004Oslo, Norway · Recovered in 2006
Daylight, guns and another Scream
This time there was no ladder and no taunting postcard. Armed men entered an open museum while visitors were inside.
Read the story 3 min
2005Perry Green, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom · Missing; police believed it destroyed
Two tonnes vanished. The metal was the danger.
The bronze seemed too heavy to steal. A crane made its weight manageable, and its artistic value may not have mattered to the thieves.
Read the story 3 min
2000Stockholm, Sweden → Copenhagen, Denmark · Recovered and returned
A speedboat, a hotel room and a very small Rembrandt
An armed robbery emptied three spaces in Stockholm. The return took years, several countries and an undercover operation.
Read the story 3 min
HISTORICAL EDITION · 1933–1945
Art, loss & memory
02 HISTORICAL DOSSIERS
Looting & Restitution
Dispossession, long battles and the paths to restitution.
Explore the casesThe upper strip shows details of the featured artworks; the lower strip uses World War II archive photographs as historical context.
Art Wanted · Rewards
87 entries · 88 documented offers · terms apply
Newest additions first · up to ten entries in each group.
Officially advertised offers 59
Official sources checked; terms apply.
Jan Brueghel the Elder · A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Picture of FloraUp to$15,000Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Jan Brueghel the Elder · Still Life with FlowersUp to$7,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Canaletto · The Riva degli Schiavoni in VeniceUp to$7,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Caravaggio · Portrait of a Young Woman (Fillide Melandroni)Up to$20,000Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Annibale Carracci · Self-PortraitUp to$2,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Cima da Conegliano · Virgin and ChildUp to$2,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Lovis Corinth · Tyrolean with CatUp to$2,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Gustave Courbet · The WaveUp to$15,000Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Lucas Cranach the Elder · Saint GeorgeUp to$7,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
Aelbert Cuyp · Spring Landscape with PoolUp to$2,500Monuments Men and Women FoundationEnds: 2026-12-31
10 of 59 entries · see the full list for the rest.
Published offers · current validity unconfirmed 18
Amounts reported by the cited sources, without confirmation that the offers remain valid.
Heinrich Martens’s bronze girl with a ballUp to€5,000Validity unconfirmed
LeRoy Neiman — Oscar de la Hoya – Shane MosleyAdvertised reward$5,000Centaur Art GalleriesValidity unconfirmed
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts — 1972 theftAdvertised rewardAmount not publishedInsurers, according to Radio Canada InternationalValidity unconfirmed
Giapanis · BalanceAdvertised reward€5,000Validity unconfirmed
Zegna · Gold sheep trophyAdvertised rewardA$15,000Validity unconfirmed
Valais · Chalet theftUp to€1,000,000Validity unconfirmed
Lausanne · Gold coinsUp to€200,000Validity unconfirmed
Ernst Fuchs · ViennaAdvertised reward€30,000Validity unconfirmed
Harawene · RotoruaAdvertised rewardNZ$5,000Validity unconfirmed
Henry · LondonAdvertised reward£1,000Validity unconfirmed
10 of 18 entries · see the full list for the rest.
Archive · recovered works or documented outcomes 10
Historical reward offers; reported returns, recoveries or destruction.
Llew Summers · FlightAdvertised rewardNZ$4,000Archive · see outcome
Amelia Earhart · ReturnedAdvertised rewardCA$25,000Archive · see outcome
Titian · RecoveredAdvertised reward£100,000Archive · see outcome
Picasso · RecoveredAdvertised rewardA$50,000Archive · see outcome
Unkrey · The HammerAdvertised reward$1,000Archive · see outcome
Van Gogh · Two paintingsAdvertised reward€100,000Archive · see outcome
Bührle · RecoveredAdvertised rewardCHF 100,000Archive · see outcome
Goya · Children with a CartUp to$50,000Archive · see outcome
Munch · Two paintingsUp toNOK 2,000,000Archive · see outcome
Cellini · SalieraAdvertised reward€70,000Archive · see outcome
ArtistsAll artists125
22–42 of 109 reports
New York, United States
US appeals court sides with Phillips over canceled Rudolf Stingel sale
A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of JN Contemporary Art’s suit. It held that Phillips could invoke the contract’s force majeure clause to cancel its guaranteed sale of Rudolf Stingel’s Untitled (2009) following pandemic restrictions. Photo shows Phillips in New York.
Milan, Italy
Milan court upholds authenticity finding on Jeff Koons’s Serpents sculpture
A Milan court upheld a finding that a porcelain Serpents acquired at a lost-property auction was an authorised Jeff Koons work. Koons had maintained that it was a defective prototype and appealed the decision. Photo shows a Serpents sculpture, courtesy of Christie’s.
New York, United States
Christian Silvain settles imitation claims against Christie’s and Sotheby’s
Belgian artist Christian Silvain reached confidential settlements ending his US copyright suits against Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The actions concerned their sales of works by Ye Yongqing that Silvain alleged imitated his paintings. Photo shows a Sotheby’s sign.
New York, United States
Phillips pursues damages over unpaid Morris Louis and Christopher Wool paintings
Phillips sued after the winning bidder failed to pay for Morris Louis’s Para IV and Christopher Wool’s Untitled (P271) at its November 2015 sale. A New York court addressed the shortfall after resale, interest and storage fees. Photo shows the Wool painting.
Seoul, South Korea
South Korea’s Supreme Court upholds artist Cho Young-nam’s fraud acquittal
The court upheld Cho Young-nam’s acquittal on fraud charges involving the sale of 21 paintings produced with assistants. The appellate acquittal had reversed an initial suspended prison sentence. Image shows one of the paintings in the case, via Yonhap.
New York, United States
US appeals court bars Sotheby’s suit against Greece over ancient bronze horse
Sotheby’s withdrew the Geometric-period bronze from a 2018 New York auction after Greece questioned its provenance and sought its return. An appellate court held that Greece was protected by sovereign immunity in the resulting lawsuit.
New York, US / Germany
New York court dismisses Cady Noland’s sculpture restoration lawsuit
A federal court dismissed Noland’s claims over the restoration of Log Cabin Façade in Germany. It found US copyright law did not reach the refurbishment abroad and that use of photos to market the work was fair use. Image shows another version of Log Cabin, from the Stone collection.
Melbourne, Australia
Australian court rejects Mossgreen administrators’ fees for returning consigned objects
The Federal Court ruled that administrators of the collapsed Mossgreen auction house were not justified in requiring consignors to pay an inventory fee to recover their property. Photo shows the auction house in Armadale.
Paris, France
US court authorizes seizure of Acoma ceremonial shield offered by EVE
EVE withdrew a sacred Acoma Pueblo shield from a May 2016 sale in Paris. US prosecutors sought forfeiture, and a federal judge authorized seizure. The US, the Pueblo and the consignor later agreed on a return in 2019. Photo shows Acoma Pueblo Governor Kurt Riley at a meeting about the sale.
Paris, France
Paris court sentences Hôtel Drouot porters in auction theft case
A Paris court sentenced porters in a case involving artworks and other objects taken while being handled for sale at Hôtel Drouot. A tip about a missing Courbet helped prompt the police investigation. Photo shows a sales room at Drouot.
New York, United States
Christie’s sues over alleged unpaid balance on Basquiat painting
Christie’s sought $32.1 million from José Mugrabi and Jombihis Corporation, alleging the outstanding balance had not been paid on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s The Field Next to the Other Road. Mugrabi disputed the account.
New York, United States
Ownership dispute settled over stolen Madonna withdrawn by Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s withdrew a late thirteenth-century Madonna and Child from auction after it was identified as stolen from a Geneva vault in 1986. A settlement resolved the ownership dispute in 2015. The possible attribution to Duccio remained open.
London, United Kingdom
Court dismisses Sotheby’s negligence claim over a version of Caravaggio’s Cardsharps
Lancelot Thwaytes sued Sotheby’s after it sold his version of The Cardsharps as a copy of Caravaggio. A subsequent owner attributed the work to Caravaggio himself. The High Court held that Sotheby’s had not been negligent in how it assessed the painting. Photo: the disputed version, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sydney, Australia
Christie’s Australia held liable in disputed Albert Tucker sale
Louise McBride bought Faun and Parrot from Christie’s in 2000 as a work by Albert Tucker. A New South Wales court found that Christie’s learned of authenticity doubts soon after the sale and failed to alert the buyer, holding it liable for most of her loss. Photo: the disputed painting, via Justinian.
London, United Kingdom
Consignor admits false provenance for Egyptian objects offered by Bonhams and Christie’s
Neil Kingsbury pleaded guilty in 2013 to misrepresenting the provenance of Egyptian antiquities. Christie’s withdrew six pieces and contacted authorities after they were linked to Egyptian material. Kingsbury acknowledged previous sales through both Bonhams and Christie’s. Photo: a granite relief fragment linked to the case, via Trafficking Culture.
California, United States
Collector sues Sotheby’s over a Van Loo once owned by Göring
Steven Brooks sued over a Louis-Michel van Loo painting bought at Sotheby’s. He alleged the auction house should have disclosed that Hermann Göring had owned it and said the possibility of Nazi-era looting affected its resale. Image: Sotheby’s New York premises, via Wikimedia Commons.
Paris, France
Hopi representatives oppose sales of sacred katsinam in Paris
Hopi representatives and Survival International sought to stop the sale of sacred katsinam by Néret-Minet in April 2013. The Paris court rejected the emergency request and the sale proceeded. Related auctions faced further challenges in 2013 and 2014. Photo: Hôtel Drouot, ZeusUpsistos via Wikimedia Commons.
Cologne, Germany
Lempertz ordered to compensate buyer for a forged Campendonk
A Cologne court ordered Lempertz to pay compensation over its sale of Red Picture with Horses, catalogued as a work by Heinrich Campendonk. The canvas was a forgery made by Wolfgang Beltracchi. Photo: the forged painting, Simon Vogel / picture alliance / dpa, via The Guardian.
Athens, Greece
Diamantides challenges a painting sold by Sotheby’s as a Parthenis
Collector Diamantis Diamantides challenged two works acquired from Sotheby’s. A court found that the purported Constantin Parthenis Virgin and Child was a forgery and awarded compensation. Sotheby’s said it intended to appeal.
Seoul, South Korea
Korean court rules on Park Su-geun’s disputed Washing Place sold by Seoul Auction
A Korean court found the disputed Park Su-geun painting was not a forgery. It also rejected Seoul Auction’s defamation claim against the publisher and editor of a magazine that questioned its authenticity. Photo: Washing Place above another painting in the series, JoongAng Ilbo.
Paris, France
China opposes Christie’s sale of two Old Summer Palace bronzes
Christie’s offered bronze rabbit and rat heads looted from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace in the nineteenth century. A French court declined to block the sale, and the winning bidder refused to pay. François-Henri Pinault returned both heads to China in 2013. Photo: the two bronzes, Xinhua via MIT Visualizing Cultures.
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