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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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
1–21 of 764 reports
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Timothy Schmalz’s bronze figure of Jesus stolen from Surrey school
A life-size bronze figure of Jesus was stolen from Saint John Paul II Academy early on 11 November. It was part of Timothy Schmalz’s courtyard installation The Last Supper Table, which includes twelve stools. Surrey Police told Global News that officers were investigating. Photo: Nicholas Elbers / The B.C. Catholic, showing the installation before the theft.
Essen, Germany
Life-size bronze of a seated woman stolen from an Essen cemetery
On 12 November, Essen police appealed for witnesses to the theft of a bronze figure from a grave in the Bredeney district. The roughly life-size sculpture depicts a seated woman and was taken between 6 and 13 October. Police estimate its value at several thousand euros. Photo of the missing sculpture: Polizei Essen.
Werl, Germany
Wooden wild boar sculpture stolen from Werl playground
Soest district police announced on 12 November that a wooden wild boar sculpture had been stolen from a playground by Werl’s municipal forest between the afternoon of 21 October and the morning of 22 October. The sculpture weighs about 100 kg and is valued at about €1,500. Criminal police are investigating and seeking witnesses. Photo: Soest district police.
Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom
Helen Denerley’s metal bird sculpture returned to Inverness theatre
STV News reported on 11 November that Helen Denerley’s scrap-metal bird, missing since October from a charity exhibition at Eden Court Theatre, had been returned anonymously to the theatre with an apology and a £100 donation. The sculpture was due to be sold to raise funds for the Highlands charity Centred, which confirmed its return and supplied the photograph.
Portland, Oregon, United States
Portland police seek stolen miniature horse figurines after arrest
Unique miniature horse figurines and other collectibles and artwork were reported stolen from a parked car overnight on 7–8 November 2026 in downtown Portland. Police arrested a man on 11 November and booked him on theft-related charges. Police said he had not been charged over the original break-in and appealed for information about the whereabouts of the items. Photo: Portland Police Bureau.
Wuppertal, Germany
Max Slevogt’s Paradiesvögel restituted to Eduard Fuchs’s heirs
The Von der Heydt Museum announced that Max Slevogt’s Paradiesvögel (1900) had been restituted to Eduard Fuchs’s heirs. Wuppertal’s city council approved the return after provenance research concluded that the 1937 auction sale of the painting was a loss resulting from Nazi persecution. Image of the painting: Ketterer Kunst, lot 152.
Nevada, United States
Nevada court sentences dealer for falsely marketing art as Native American-made
The U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board reported that Jose Martinez pleaded guilty on 3 November 2026 to a felony under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. He had falsely represented paintings and other items as made by Native American artists or members of specific tribes. A federal judge sentenced him to 24 months of supervised probation and ordered him to pay $14,100 in restitution. Documentary photo of Jose Martinez, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement.
Cologne, Germany
Hans Arp bronze reported stolen at Art Cologne
Galerie Ludorff reported that Hans Arp’s bronze Sich aufrichtend (1962) disappeared from its booth at Art Cologne on 8 November 2026. The gallery filed a police complaint and appealed for information and photographs from visitors. Photo of the bronze: Galerie Ludorff / © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Diadema, Brazil
Brazilian police execute search warrants in stolen cultural property inquiry
Brazil's Federal Police announced five court-authorised searches in Operation Página Oculta on 10 November 2026. The inquiry concerns the suspected handling, concealment and sale of stolen rare books, religious sculptures and other cultural property. The release did not confirm the recovery of any specific work. Documentary photo of the operation: Polícia Federal.
Caeté, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Missing 18th-century Nossa Senhora do Rosário sculpture recovered
A polychrome wooden sculpture of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, missing for decades from its church in Caeté, was identified through technical analysis and comparison with an old photograph. Minas Gerais prosecutors confirmed the recovery and announced that the sculpture would be formally returned to the community on 18 November 2026. Photo: Ministério Público de Minas Gerais (MPMG).
Schwarzheide, Germany
Police seek Ernst Sauer’s stolen bronze Der Liegende
Police appealed for witnesses after Ernst Sauer’s bronze Der Liegende disappeared from Anne-Frank-Straße, probably overnight on 17–18 September. The sculpture weighs several hundred kilograms. Investigators are seeking information about its removal and whereabouts; no recovery or arrest is reported. Archive photo (2018): Wilhelm Zimmerling PAR / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); unaltered original.
Gotha, Germany
Rubens oil sketch returns to Gotha after a negotiated settlement
Der Prophet Elias auf dem goldenen Wagen has returned from a private US collection following a negotiated settlement funded by the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation. The announcement reunites Gotha’s five Rubens oil studies after more than 80 years. Der heilige Augustinus joins them on long-term loan, not as a transfer of ownership.
Ba, Fiji
Ba court remands suspect in alleged temple-statue thefts
Ba Magistrates Court remanded a man accused of stealing religious statues from three temples. He faces sacrilege and suspended-sentence breach charges. The statues were recovered damaged. The report concerns pretrial detention, not a conviction. Photo: Ganesh statue at the affected Rarawai temple before its destruction; Munen Lingam / fijivillage.
Silver City, New Mexico, United States
Campus police recover all four stolen Mimbres ceramic vessels
Western New Mexico University Police announced on 9 November that all objects stolen from the university museum had been recovered intact. The Silver City Daily Press identified them as four Mimbres ceramic vessels from Elk Ridge pueblo. Police said the investigation was ongoing and charges were expected. Documentary photo of the damaged museum window: Raleigh Burleigh / Silver City Daily Press.
Documentary image: U.S. Department of Justice. Image source ↗
Miramar Beach, United States
Federal forfeiture of antiquities seized in Florida
U.S. prosecutors announced the forfeiture of antiquities following an investigation into shipments to a Florida recipient. The Department of Justice published a collage showing examples of the seized material.
Wingen-sur-Moder and Montans, France
Four placed under formal investigation in Lalique and Montans thefts
On 6 November 2026, the specialised court in Nancy announced that four people had been placed under formal investigation over two July thefts: 27 pieces of jewellery from the Musée Lalique and 37 Gallo-Roman gold coins from the Montans archaeological centre. Two suspects were remanded in custody and two placed under judicial supervision. The photo shows René Lalique’s stolen Femme Libellule ailes ouvertes pendant (Musée Lalique).
London, United Kingdom
Eighteen recovered Khmer objects handed to Cambodia’s embassy
On 30 October 2026, London's Metropolitan Police handed 18 Khmer cultural objects to the Cambodian Embassy, after recovering them in November 2025. The group includes stone sculptures, bronze ritual objects and jewellery fragments. As of the 8 November report, onward transport to Cambodia was still to be arranged. Photo: the handover ceremony and objects, Royal Embassy of Cambodia in London.
Canberra, Australia / Gongyi, China
Australia hands two Northern Song tomb sculptures back to China
Knews reported on 7 November that the National Gallery of Australia handed two limestone heads from Northern Song imperial tombs in Henan to Chinese heritage authorities in Canberra on 28 October 2026. They depict a civil official from Yongchang Mausoleum and a military official from Yongyu Mausoleum. Photo: Embassy of China in Australia.
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City judge orders proceedings in alleged fraud over paintings attributed to Kahlo and Siqueiros
N+ reports that a judge ordered criminal proceedings against Ricardo N on 3 November over an alleged 25-million-peso art-sale fraud. Prosecutors say false property documents secured the unpaid purchase of two paintings attributed to Frida Kahlo and David Alfaro Siqueiros. The defendant remains in pretrial detention, with one month allowed for further investigation. No conviction, recovery or determination that the paintings are forged is reported.
Catania, Italy
Four stolen 17th-century books returned to a Catania church
Italian State Police recovered four rare 17th-century books stolen from the church of Santa Maria della Guardia and handed them back to the parish priest. Police reported two people to judicial authorities on suspicion of receiving stolen property. The photograph shows the recovered books, as published by Catania News.
Paris / Tarbes, France
Portrait de femme en bleu restituted to Gabrielle Philippson's heirs and reacquired for Tarbes
France's Culture Ministry announced restitution of Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen's Portrait de femme en bleu, looted from Gabrielle Philippson's estate in 1942. The mayor of Tarbes and the heirs signed a restitution agreement followed by reacquisition of the painting, which will remain at the Musee Massey. This is a completed restitution-and-reacquisition arrangement, not a report that the painting physically left the museum.
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