Art Theft and Forgeries
How to Steal a Million
We have all heard about audacious art heists that are more like blockbuster movies than run-of-the-mill burglaries. This lecture will be a rollicking adventure, where we look at famous art thefts, discuss what motivates art thieves and examine what aspects the thefts have in common. We will also look at where the burglars made mistakes, which enabled investigators to swoop in and recover stolen masterpieces. In many cases, the police sting operations were just as daring as the thefts.
Stolen Masterpieces
Stolen Masterpieces looks at famous works of art that have been stolen, such as Johannes Vermeer’s The Guitar Player and the masterpieces that were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – a case which still remains unsolved today. This lecture examines the motives behind the thefts and what happens to the aura of the masterpieces after they’ve been stolen and returned.
The Inside Stories: the real stories behind the most intriguing cases of stolen art
This lecture will examine the most famous works of art that were stolen, what makes the thefts so intriguing, and discuss whether the notoriety of being a stolen work of art increases or decreases the value of the work. Some examples of stolen art that we will discuss include Edvard Munch’s The Scream and the most famous artwork of all time – Leonardo’s da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
Fake it till you make it: Forgeries and the Art Market
This lecture examines some of the most notorious art forgeries in recent years. We will look at what museums, auction houses and dealers do to counter forgeries and the impact it has on the art market. We will also examine what law enforcement has been doing to recognise fakes and focus on how advances in technology are being used to determine the authenticity of an artwork.
Museum of the Missing
A museum made up of all the stolen artworks that remain missing would house the most valuable collection ever known. This lecture looks at missing masterpieces such as Caravaggio’s Nativity with St Francis and St Laurence, Vermeer’s The Concert, and the missing panel from the Ghent Altarpiece. The lecture will examine how these works were taken and the impact that the thefts have on society.