It's not always banks and jewelers that get targeted by thieves endeavoring to steal millions worth of goods. Very often the targets are, in fact, museums and art galleries, and the thieves often have their bullseye set on specific targets.
Famous paintings and expensive artworks often become their primary objective. Hence, many famous stolen paintings have fallen victim to the hands of burglars. And although some stolen paintings have been returned to their owners' hands, many's whereabouts remain a mystery.
Arguably the biggest art theft in history, dubbed the Gardner heist or the 1990 theft, in which 13 works of art were stolen, remains a mystery even 30 years later. Among the famous stolen paintings still missing are works by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and many other masterminds who probably never imagined their artworks would ever be worth millions and sought after by federal agencies all over the world. However, the pitfall for both the investigators and the burglars is that stolen artwork is often "too famous to fence." This implies that the criminals are stuck with something they can't sell, which, to a certain degree, complicates the process of tracking down the lost paintings. However, not all hope is lost since the search for the stolen paintings has never ceased, and numerous famous paintings have already made it safely to their rightful owners.
If the history of art theft is something you want to learn more about, below, we've compiled a list of stolen paintings with some background information on how they were stolen. Other than that, we've made it clear to indicate which of the stolen paintings were recovered and which ones are still missing. As always, upvote your favorite pieces and let us know if you know any more details regarding any of the theft cases! And although we do our best to fact-check the information we provide, we would highly appreciate you letting us know if you spot any errors and inaccuracies. And now, on to investigating!
It's not always banks and jewelers that get targeted by thieves endeavoring to steal millions worth of goods. Very often the targets are, in fact, museums and art galleries, and the thieves often have their bullseye set on specific targets.
Famous paintings and expensive artworks often become their primary objective. Hence, many famous stolen paintings have fallen victim to the hands of burglars. And although some stolen paintings have been returned to their owners' hands, many's whereabouts remain a mystery.
Arguably the biggest art theft in history, dubbed the Gardner heist or the 1990 theft, in which 13 works of art were stolen, remains a mystery even 30 years later. Among the famous stolen paintings still missing are works by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and many other masterminds who probably never imagined their artworks would ever be worth millions and sought after by federal agencies all over the world. However, the pitfall for both the investigators and the burglars is that stolen artwork is often "too famous to fence." This implies that the criminals are stuck with something they can't sell, which, to a certain degree, complicates the process of tracking down the lost paintings. However, not all hope is lost since the search for the stolen paintings has never ceased, and numerous famous paintings have already made it safely to their rightful owners.
If the history of art theft is something you want to learn more about, below, we've compiled a list of stolen paintings with some background information on how they were stolen. Other than that, we've made it clear to indicate which of the stolen paintings were recovered and which ones are still missing. As always, upvote your favorite pieces and let us know if you know any more details regarding any of the theft cases! And although we do our best to fact-check the information we provide, we would highly appreciate you letting us know if you spot any errors and inaccuracies. And now, on to investigating!
