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Latest reports
Timothy Schmalz’s bronze figure of Jesus stolen from Surrey schoolLife-size bronze of a seated woman stolen from an Essen cemeteryWooden wild boar sculpture stolen from Werl playgroundHelen Denerley’s metal bird sculpture returned to Inverness theatrePortland police seek stolen miniature horse figurines after arrestMax Slevogt’s Paradiesvögel restituted to Eduard Fuchs’s heirs

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

Art crime across time zones

Live clocks

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.

  1. France8,133 objects
  2. Italy7,721 objects
  3. Turkey3,034 objects
  4. Iraq2,786 objects
  5. Belgium2,336 objects
  6. Netherlands1,756 objects

Published analysis ↗Underlying data table ↗About the INTERPOL register ↗

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Thefts around the world

Art Theft Map

128 theft reports · 20 countries

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)
The stories behind the art

Stolen. Sought. Found.

Explore all stories
Edvard Munch, The Scream, the MUNCH painted version dated 1910? in the museum catalogue; stolen with Madonna in 2004.2004
Oslo, 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
Henry Moore, Reclining Figure (1969–70), photographed before its theft from Perry Green.2005
Perry 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
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1630), Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; the copper painting recovered in 2005.2000
Stockholm, 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
The original Amber Room in 1931, before wartime removal; tinted historical photograph, not the modern reconstruction.Colour reproduction of Raphael’s missing Portrait of a Young Man, published by the Monuments Men and Women Foundation; not a newly discovered original.Scientific reconstruction of La pose enchantée, whose four quarters survive beneath later paintings; not an uncovered original.The three fake heads associated with the 1984 Livorno hoax; they are not sculptures by Amedeo Modigliani.An early copy of the Battle of Anghiari composition at Palazzo Vecchio, not a surviving mural by Leonardo.
Image details · Sources in each story
THE CLUES. THE SHADOWS. THE QUESTIONS.

Art Mysteries

Some artworks keep their secrets.

Explore the 20 stories
HISTORICAL EDITION · 1933–1945

Art, loss & memory

The upper strip shows details of the featured artworks; the lower strip uses World War II archive photographs as historical context.

ArtTraceX · The adventure starts hereJoin the art hunters — near you and around the worldThe next clue could be closer than you think.Start exploring

Art Wanted · Rewards

87 entries · 88 documented offers · terms apply

Newest additions first · up to ten entries in each group.

Rewards page →

Officially advertised offers 59

Official sources checked; terms apply.

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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.

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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.

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Art Forgery Stories

The Masterpieces That Never Were

All forgery stories
The white paint that exposed BeltracchiThe Vermeer the forger had to paint againThe fake Rothko that sold for $8.3 millionThe fakes planted in the Tate archives

Incident archive

Last update · 13 Nov 2026
ArtistsAll artists125

Report counts across the archive. Names include attributed works and reported forgeries.

Browse artist dossiers →

316–336 of 764 reports

Peru confirms the return of two colonial-era church paintings
Returned
Lima, Peru / United States

Peru confirms the return of two colonial-era church paintings

Peru’s Ministry of Culture confirmed the return of Virgin of Guadalupe, stolen from Santiago Apóstol church in Ollantaytambo in 2002, and Pentecost, stolen from Santa Cruz de Orurillo church in Puno in 2001. Both works had returned from the United States. The image shows Virgin of Guadalupe at a repatriation event in Los Angeles.

Art restitution
Read the source · gob.pe ↗
The stolen bronze female figure by Elena Panknin, numbered 1. Photo: Polizei Berlin.

The stolen bronze female figure by Elena Panknin, numbered 1. Photo: Polizei Berlin. Image source ↗

Stolen
Berlin, Germany

Elena Panknin bronze sculpture stolen during Berlin exhibition opening

Berlin police appealed for information about a bronze female figure by Elena Panknin stolen during an exhibition opening in Mitte between 31 August and 1 September 2022. The signed sculpture is about 60cm tall and numbered 1. Its whereabouts were sought at the release date.

Art theftElena Panknin
Read the source · berlin.de ↗
Stolen Antonio Ligabue self-portrait recovered after a museum visitor recognized it
Recovered
Bard, Italy

Stolen Antonio Ligabue self-portrait recovered after a museum visitor recognized it

The woman who reported the 1991 theft recognized Self-Portrait with Scarecrow at a retrospective at Forte di Bard. A technical assessment supported the match, and Carabinieri returned the painting to her on a judicial order in October 2022. The collector who had lent it to the exhibition opposed the return, ANSA reported. The ANSA photograph compares the painting at different dates.

Recovered art
Read the source · ansa.it ↗
Ceremonial Head of a King, one of the Smithsonian works. Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Ceremonial Head of a King, one of the Smithsonian works. Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Image source ↗

Returned
Washington, United States; Benin City, Nigeria

Three US museums transfer ownership of 31 Benin works to Nigeria

At a Washington ceremony, ownership of 31 works looted from Benin City in 1897 was transferred to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments: 29 from the Smithsonian, one from RISD Museum and one from the National Gallery of Art. The announcement confirms legal transfer, rather than physical shipment of all 31 objects to Nigeria.

Art restitution
Read the source · risdmuseum.org ↗
New York appeals court upholds Diana Al-Hadid’s ownership ruling on a bronze sculpture
Court dispute
New York, US

New York appeals court upholds Diana Al-Hadid’s ownership ruling on a bronze sculpture

A New York state appeals court unanimously upheld a finding that the agreement between the artist and Marianne Boesky’s gallery was a consignment and conveyed no ownership interest in an unsold bronze. The gallery had financed fabrication and claimed a partial ownership interest. File photo shows Diana Al-Hadid, Amanda Edwards via Artnet.

Art court dispute
Read the source · nycourts.gov ↗
The two-seal bronze sculpture formerly on Bismarckplatz; image published with the police theft appeal.

The two-seal bronze sculpture formerly on Bismarckplatz; image published with the police theft appeal. Image source ↗

Stolen
Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Heavy bronze seal sculpture stolen from Wilhelmshaven storage yard

A bronze sculpture of two seals, formerly displayed on Bismarckplatz, was stolen from a Wilhelmshaven storage yard between July and September 2022. Police said it had been stored on a pallet and its weight required a vehicle; initial enquiries suggested at least four people were needed to move it. The October appeal announced no recovery or arrest. Photo supplied by police.

Art theft
Read the source · presseportal.de ↗
Getty’s Poet and Sirens sculptures formally repatriated to Italy — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source.

Getty’s Poet and Sirens sculptures formally repatriated to Italy — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗

Returned
Los Angeles, United States; Taranto, Italy

Getty’s Poet and Sirens sculptures formally repatriated to Italy

Manhattan prosecutors announced the formal repatriation of the terracotta group following evidence of looting near Taranto. The Getty consented after investigators presented evidence concerning its trafficking history.

Art restitution
Read the source · manhattanda.org ↗
Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby / Avon and Somerset Police, via Bristol24/7.

Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby / Avon and Somerset Police, via Bristol24/7. Image source ↗

Stolen
Bristol, United Kingdom

Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby stolen from Bristol’s Hidden Gallery

Bristol24/7 reported a police investigation after Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby was stolen from Hidden Gallery in Clifton Arcade. The limited-edition gilded ceramic figure is 27 cm tall. Police sought information about two men seen near the display. The dated report makes no announcement of recovery or conviction.

Art theftGrayson Perry
Read the source · bristol247.com ↗
Selection of the stolen statues / Gloucestershire Constabulary, via ITV News.

Selection of the stolen statues / Gloucestershire Constabulary, via ITV News. Image source ↗

Stolen
Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom

Twenty lead statues stolen from a Moreton-in-Marsh estate

ITV reported that 20 lead-based statues, valued together at about £19,000, were stolen from a Moreton-in-Marsh estate between 24 and 26 July 2022. Some had stood there for over 70 years. Gloucestershire Police appealed for information; the report does not announce a recovery or identified offender.

Art theft
Read the source · itv.com ↗
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa — historical reproduction, Library of Congress.

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa — historical reproduction, Library of Congress. Image source ↗

Returned
Paris, France / Florence, Italy

Mona Lisa theft and return: a historical account

A Library of Congress historical account describes the theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, its recovery in Italy and return in 1913. The record date is the account’s publication on 22 August 2022, not the theft date. The Louvre independently corroborates the recovery.

Art restitutionLeonardo da Vinci
Read the source · blogs.loc.gov ↗
Met delivers a temple strut and Shiva sculpture to Nepal — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source.

Met delivers a temple strut and Shiva sculpture to Nepal — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗

Returned
New York, United States; Kathmandu, Nepal

Met delivers a temple strut and Shiva sculpture to Nepal

The Met announced delivery to Nepal of a thirteenth-century Salabhinka temple strut and a tenth-century Shiva sculpture. Museum research prompted the return; Shiva’s ownership transfer had been signed in 2021.

Art restitution
Read the source · metmuseum.org ↗
FBI recovers two Ammi Phillips portraits stolen in 1972
Recovered
New Paltz, United States

FBI recovers two Ammi Phillips portraits stolen in 1972

The FBI returned Ammi Phillips’s 1820s portraits of Derrick Wynkoop and Ann Eltinge to Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz. The paintings were stolen in February 1972. A record of their appearance at auction helped investigators trace them. The FBI image shows the portrait of Ann Eltinge.

Recovered art
Read the source · FBI ↗
National Museum of Slovenia cancels exhibition over suspected forgeries
Art forgery
Ljubljana, Slovenia

National Museum of Slovenia cancels exhibition over suspected forgeries

The museum cancelled Travels, a planned display of 160 privately owned paintings, after experts raised authenticity concerns about works listed in the catalogue. The show had advertised paintings attributed to Picasso, Van Gogh and Matisse. Ljubljana police announced an investigation. File photo shows visitors at the museum, Xinhua via The Guardian.

Art forgeryPablo PicassoHenri MatisseVincent van Gogh
Read the source · theguardian.com ↗
Recovered de Kooning Woman-Ochre restored for its first exhibition since theft
Recovered
Los Angeles, California, United States

Recovered de Kooning Woman-Ochre restored for its first exhibition since theft

Getty announced that Woman-Ochre (1954–1955) would be exhibited from 7 June after extensive conservation. Cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985, it was recovered and returned to that museum in August 2017 after an estate-sale purchase in New Mexico. This 2022 report concerns restoration and renewed public display, not a new recovery.

Recovered artWillem de Kooning
Read the source · getty.edu ↗
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1630), Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

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