Art crime is big business with an estimated $6 billion in losses annually! Here’s a list of the FBI’s Top 10 art crimes at the moment..
Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts – The significant Statue of Entemena was recovered in 2006 but there are still many pieces missing.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft – Thieves stole as much as $300 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990 with paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Manet being among them.
Theft of Caravaggio’s Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco – Back in 1969 thieves stole Caravaggio’s Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco from the Oratory of San Lorenzo, Palermo, Italy.
Theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius – In 1995 the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius violin worth $3 million was stolen from the violinist Erica Morini’s New York City apartment.
The Van Gogh Museum Robbery – Two paintings by Vincent van Gogh called “View of the Sea at Scheveningen” and “Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen” were stolen from the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam in 2002 and have never been recovered, even though the two thieves were caught.
Theft of Cezanne’s View of Auvers-sur-Oise – Paul Cezanne’s View of Auvers-sur-Oise was taken from the the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England in 1999.
Theft of the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals, Panels 3-A and 3-B – Two Maxfield Parrish panels were cut from their frames in West Hollywood, California in 2002.
Theft from the Museu Chacara do Céu – In 2006 four paintings were stolen from the Museu Chacara do Céu, Rio de Janeiro. They included work by Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso.
Theft of Van Mieris’s A Cavalier – A self portrait by the Dutch Master Frans Van Mieris was stolen from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney in 2007. It was taken in broad daylight, while the museum was open.
Theft from E.G. Bührle Collection, Zurich – The E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland had 4 works stolen in 2008, with two important painting by Paul Cezanne and Edgar Degas still missing.
The FBI top ten list has changed a little from back in 2005.
LIFE is teaming up with Google to create a massive online database of more than 10 million photos from the 1750s through to today. It is a work in progress but there is already an impressive collection of photographs online now.
