Art Crime (non-fiction)
Explore gripping tales of art crime with our curated list of non-fiction books. Uncover true stories of theft, forgery, and high-stakes heists in the art world.
Book
The Irish Game
by Matthew Hart
"Meticulously researched, clearly written, completely engrossing . . . the work of a talented author." --"Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel"
Book
Art Crime
by John E Conklin
In addition to considering the motives of thieves, the book looks at the way art theft is socially organized: the types of thefts that are committed, the ways thieves locate art to steal and how they gain access to it, their use of insiders and fronts, and the way they launder stolen art. The relationship between art theft and organized crime, especially drug traffickers, is investigated.
Book
The Art of the Steal
by Christopher Mason
Journeys inside the scandal that rocked the art auction world, describing how Alfred Taubman, Diana Brooks, and Christopher Davidge conspired to cheat clients, while describing the operations of Sotheby's and Christie's.
Book
Sotheby's
by Peter Watson
alist Peter Watson exposes smuggling and the evasion of customs and national laws--and questions certain practices within and around the venerable art auction house. Using leads provided by the tip, and a huge cache of stolen documents, Watson details genuine experts, tomb robbers, as well as false names and claims, evaluations, despoilation of national treasures, and more. photos.
Book
The Man who Stole the Mona Lisa
by Robert Noah
A fictionalized account of the real-life theft from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1912 of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, Mona Lisa. The protagonists are an aristocratic Argentinian who masterminds the operation, his assistant who is a painter good at forgery, and a crippled urchin who is the actual thief.
Book
Stealing the Mona Lisa
by Darian Leader
Leader explores the psychology of looking at visual art. This is a book about why we look at art and what we might be hoping to find.
Book
The Recovery of Stolen Art
by Norman Palmer
A heated public debate is in progress on both the national and international fronts. The issues: ethics, law, and morality relating to the return of looted, stolen, and unlawfully excavated art works. An important academic and practical initiative, The Recovery of Stolen Art collects essays by eminent scholars and practitioners that examine in detail the law relating to the recovery of stolen works of art and antiquities. The timing of the publication is particularly apposite, as it coincides with the entry into force of the UNIDROIT Convention in 1998. That a number of countries are actively considering adoption of the Convention necessitates an examination of the current regimes, since the Convention itself will not be retroactive in force. Stolen art is an area of the law where more complexities and underlying issues exist than initially meet the eye. For this reason, practitioners in this area and others affected by it must stay educated on the current state of the law. Its authoritativeness and currency make The Recovery of Stolen Art a critical component in such an effort.
