The Atlas of Art Crime: Thefts, Vandalism, and Forgeries

Mapping out the world’s most infamous art thefts, forgeries, and acts of vandalism, this unique and visually striking reference illuminates acts of art crime around the globe.

This book highlights seventy-five incidents in a unique format that allows readers to visualize the geography of art crime from the past two centuries.

Divided by location into sections on thefts, vandalism, and forgeries, each crime is profiled with an absorbing narrative and images of the artworks, perpetrators, and scenes of the crime. Additional sidebars feature compelling information about the artist and/or work of art.

Including renowned crimes such as the 1911 theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre, the 1972 attack on Michelangelo’s sculpture, Our Lady of Piety, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, and a portrait of the master forger, Elmyr de Hory, this book also includes lesser known incidents: how two Irish students stole a priceless masterpiece from London’s Tate Gallery; a young woman overcome by passion who vandalized a Cy Twombly painting with an indelible kiss; an American forger who dresses up as a priest and gives his forgeries away for free; and a Chinese librarian who stole one hundred forty-three paintings by famous Chinese artists and replaced them with his own fakes.

Filled with intrigue, controversies, power dynamics, and unexpected motivations, this is a captivating exploration of the darker side of art history.

Laura Evans is a Distinguished Teaching Professor and the Coordinator of the Art Museum Education Certificate at the University of North Texas, Denton. She teaches about art museums, art interpretation, art appreciation, and art crime, and has published widely in journals and books. She has worked at art museums throughout the world from the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in Western Australia to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, with many more in between. She has also collaborated with museums around the United States, such as the Kimbell Museum of Art in Fort Worth and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, to provide museology trainings.