In Brief
Easter Islanders Ask British Museum to Return Sacred Statue, Offering Replica in Return
The Rapa Nui community has offered a basalt replica of the eight-foot, four-ton sculpture called Hoa Hakananai’a, which was stolen in 1868.
Art Crime
In Brief
Guggenheim Museum Returns Looted Painting to a German Art Dealer’s Heirs
When Alfred Flechtheim fled Germany, an Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painting of his ended up in the hands of a Nazi, and eventually at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim.
Art
Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums Want Hidden
Over 20,000 precious art objects were seized in a raid at dawn — what can this elucidate about beauty, theft, and the museum?
In Brief
Sacré Bleu! French Museum Is Full of Forgeries
The Musée Terrus in Elne recently brought in an art historian to examine its holdings; he found that 82 of the 140 works in the museum's collection are fake.
In Brief
Woman Steals $17,500 Rock from Yoko Ono Installation
The perpetrator, who was caught on camera, took the rock from a participatory installation called "Stone Piece" at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.
News
314 Rare Books Stolen from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library
There are generally two types of rare book thieves — ones that steal for money and book hoarders.
News
Theft of Terracotta Warrior Thumb Provokes Fierce Response from China
An unnamed Chinese official wants the perpetrator to be punished — and says the museum should pay for failing to protect priceless artifacts.
In Brief
Manhattan District Attorney Forms Special Team to Investigate Antiquities Trafficking
After a string of high-profile raids and restitutions, the Manhattan DA has created a formal squad to focus on the trade in illegal antiquities.
In Brief
Artist Sean Scully’s Former Assistant Allegedly Stole Work to Sell at Auction
Arturo Rucci, a former assistant to Scully, has been arrested under suspicion of stealing a triptych from the artist's studio and consigning it for auction at Bonhams.
In Brief
Vigilantes Posing as City Workers Steal Street Art in Paris
Some 15 tile pieces by the French street artist Invader have been pried off city's walls by two men claiming to be municipal workers.
In Brief
Amede-No! Modigliani Show Shut Down After 21 Works Deemed Likely Fakes
The exhibition, at the Doge's Palace in Genoa, included pieces on loan from private collections and major institutions like the Musée de l'Orangerie and the Fitzwilliam Museum.
In Brief
Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Murder
“The courts need to send a clear message to tackle the scourge of gender-based violence," said Judge Patricia Goliath when she delivered the sentence.