Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources or material evidence indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections, as well as works known to have been destroyed deliberately or
accidentally or neglected through ignorance and lack of
connoisseurship.
Research and recovery efforts
File:Raphael missing.jpg, '' Portrait of a Young Man'' by Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
File:Caravaggio 005.jpg, '' Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco'' by Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
Est. (2006) US$20,000,000Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
Est. (2006) pricelessVermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...
Est. $20,000,000–pricelessVan Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...
File:Édouard Manet Chez Tortoni.jpg, '' Chez Tortoni'' by Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...
Est. (2006) pricelessJean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Cha ...
Est. (2006) US$8,800,000Fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were o ...
'' by Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
(1917)[Calvin Tomkins, ''Duchamp: A Biography'', Museum of Modern Art, 2014, p. 186 ]
The
Art Loss Register is a commercial computerized international database which captures information about lost and stolen art, antiques and collectables. It is operated by a commercial company based in London.
In the U.S., the FBI maintains th
National Stolen Art File "a database of stolen art and cultural property. Stolen objects are submitted for entry to the NSAF by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad."
A number of search and recovery efforts were created in response to major loss events, notably:
*
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program ("Monuments Men"), 1943–1946
*
Bureau of Revindication and Damages (Poland), operated from 1945 to 1951
*
Bureau of the Government Representative for Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad, 1991-
Chronology of notable loss events
*
Rhodes earthquake, 226 BCE
*First Mithridatic War
**
Sack of Athens, 1 March 86 BCE
*
Antikythera shipwreck, ''86-50'' BCE
*
Lauseion fire, 475
*
Nika riots
The Nika riots (), Nika revolt or Nika sedition took place against Byzantine emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD. They are often regarded as the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of ...
, 13 January 532-
*
Byzantine Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Iconoclasm () are two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (at the time still comprising the ...
**
Iconoclasm of Leo III, 726-741
**
Second Byzantine Iconoclasm, 814-842
*Jin–Song Wars, 1125–1234
**
Jingkang Incident
The Jingkang Incident (), also known as the Humiliation of Jingkang () and the Disorders of the Jingkang Period (), was an episode of invasions and atrocities that took place in 1127 during the Jin–Song Wars when the troops of the Jurchen-l ...
(Sack of Kaifeng), 10 January 1126-
*Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204
**
Sack of Constantinople, 12–15 April 1204
*
Bonfires of the vanities, 1492–1497
**
Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 1492
**
Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 7 February 1497
*
Palazzo Bentivoglio destruction, 1507
*
Iconoclastic Fury, 1522–1599
**
Beeldenstorm, 1566
**
"Stille beeldenstorm" of Antwerp, 1581
*
Doge's Palace fire, 1576
*
El Pardo Palace fire, 1604
*
Russo-Swedish Deluge 1648-1667
**
Destruction of the Commonwealth
*
Bombardment of Brussels, 13–15 August 1695
**
Brussels Town Hall
The Town Hall (, ; , ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of that municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the Grand-Place, Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), opposite the Goth ...
fire, 13–15 August 1695
*
Palace of Whitehall fire, 4 January 1698
*
André-Charles Boulle
André-Charles Boulle (11 November 164229 February 1732), ''le joailler du meuble'' (the "furniture jeweller"), became the most famous French Cabinet making, cabinetmaker and the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry, also known as "inlay". ...
workshop fire, 30 August 1720
*
Coudenberg Palace fire, 3 February 1731
*
Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire, 24 December 1734
*
Kroměříž Palace fire, March 1752
*
Lisbon earthquake and tsunami, 1 November 1755
**
Ribeira Palace destruction
*''
Vrouw Maria'' sinking, 9 October 1771
*
French Revolution, 1789–1799
*
Napoleonic looting of art, 1794-1814
*
Exton Old Park fire, 1810
*
Belvoir Castle fire, 1816
*
Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura fire, 1823
*
Burning of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster, the medieval royal palace used as the home of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, British parliament, was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834. The blaze was caused by the burning of small wooden tally sti ...
, 16 October 1834
*
Palais-Royal looting, 21–22 February 1848
*
Old Summer Palace destruction, 18–21 October 1861
*
Museum Boymans fire, 1864
*Paris Commune, 18 March-28 May 1871
**
Hôtel de Ville fire, May 1871
**
Tuileries Palace fire, 23 May 1871
*
Holker Hall fire, 1871
*
Great Boston Fire of 1872
*
Bath House fire, 31 January 1873
*
Pantechnicon warehouse fire, London, 13–14 February 1874
*
Benin City sacking, 9 February 1897-
*
San Francisco Earthquake, April 18, 1906
*
Messina earthquake, 28 December 1908
*
Mona Lisa theft and vandalism, 21 August 1911
*
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
*
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
and post-revolution losses, 1917-1920s
**Treasures for Tractors, 1920s
*
Thames flood (Tate Gallery flood), 7 January 1928
*
Glaspalast fire, 6 June 1931
*
Nazi plunder
Nazi plunder () was organized stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the Art theft and looting during World War II, organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany.
Jewi ...
, 1933–1945
**
Berlin Fire Department art burning, 20 March 1939
**
Frey seizures (1939-1942)
**
Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce seizures, 1940–1945
**
Mühlmann Agency seizures, 1939–1945
**
Einsatzgruppen unit seizures, 1939–1945
**
SS-Ahnenerbe unit seizures, 1939–1945
*
Ghent Altarpiece panels theft, 10 April 1934
*
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, 1936–1939
* World War II, 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945
**
Gosford House fire, 1940
**
Castle Howard
Castle Howard is an English country house in Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, north of York. A private residence, it has been the home of the Earl of Carlisle, Carlisle branch of the House of Howard, Howard family for more than 300 years. Castle ...
fire, 9 November 1940
**The Blitz, 7 September 1940 – 21 May 1941
***
Bridgewater House bombing, 11 May 1941
**
Bombardment of Manila, December 1941
**
Bombing of Bremen, 1942
**Palazzo Archinto (Milan) bombing, 1943
**
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...
, 17 January – 18 May 1944
**
Ovetari Chapel bombing, 11 March 1944
**
Destruction of Warsaw
The destruction of Warsaw was Nazi Germany's razing of Warsaw, the city in late 1944, after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising of the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish resistance. The uprising infuriated German leaders, who decided to dest ...
, 1944–45
***
Royal Castle, Warsaw
The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( ) is a state museum and a List of Historic Monuments (Poland), national historical monument, which formerly served as the official Castle, royal residence of several List of Polish rulers, Polish monarchs. The person ...
explosion
**
Bombing of Dresden, February 1945
**
Battle of Manila, 3 February – 3 March 1945
**
Schloss Immendorf fire, May 1945
**
Friedrichshain flak tower fire, May 1945
**Ashiya District air raids, 5–6 August 1945
**
Quedlinburg medieval art theft, 19 April – June 1945
**
Soviet looting, 1939–1945
*
Kronberg Castle looting, 5 November 1945
*
Arno Breker
Arno Breker (19 July 1900 – 13 February 1991) was a German sculptor who is best known for his public works in Nazi Germany, where he was endorsed by the authorities as the antithesis of degenerate art. He was made official state sculptor, ...
Sculpture Destruction, 1945-
*
Arshile Gorky studio fire, 1946
*
Alfred Stieglitz Gallery theft, 1946
*
Musée de Beaux Arts de Strasbourg fire, 13 August 1947
*
Coleshill House fire, 1952
*
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) fire, 15 August 1958
*
American Airlines Flight 1 plane crash, 1962
*
Dulwich College Picture Gallery theft, 30 December 1966
*
Izmir Archaeology Museum theft, 24 July 1969
*
Oratory of San Lorenzo theft, October 1969
*
Stephen Hahn Gallery theft,
17 November 1969
*
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, 4 September 1972
*Musée Albert-André, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, theft, 12 November 1972
*
Invasion of Cyprus church thefts, 1974
*
Russborough House art theft #1, 1974
*
Palais des Papes Picasso theft, 31 January 1976
*
Corridart
Corridart (sometimes stylized as Corrid'Art) was an almost 6 km (4 mile) long public exhibit of monumental installation artwork that took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Sherbrooke Street from July 6 to July 13 1976. The exhibition was cance ...
installation destruction, Montreal, 1976
*
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro fire, 8 July 1978
*
Varig plane disappearance, 30 January 1979
*
L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art theft, 15 April 1983
*
Kunsthaus Zürich incendiary attack, 1985
*
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...
fire, 17 October 1985
*
Musée Marmottan Monet theft, 28 October 1985
*
Russborough House art theft #2, 1986
*
Neue Nationalgalerie
The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its sculpt ...
theft, 27 May 1988
*
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, 18 March 1990
*
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
theft, 16 September 1990
*
Houghton Hall theft, 30 September 1992
*
Windsor Castle fire, 20 November 1992
*
Uffizi car bombing, 1993
*
Moderna Museet theft, 8 November 1993
*
''The Scream'' theft, 12 February 1994
*
Kunsthalle Schirn theft (Frankfurt art theft), 28 July 1994
*
Stéphane Breitwieser: 172 museum thefts, 1995–2001
*Galleria Ricci Oddi theft, 18 February 1997
*
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
theft, 3 May 1998
*
Swissair Flight 111 plane crash, 2 September 1998
*
Ashmolean Museum theft, 31 December 1999
*
Nationalmuseum theft, 22 Dec 2000
*
Russborough House art theft #3, 2001
*
National Museum, Poznań theft, September 2000
*Sofia Imber Contemporary Art Museum theft, 2000–2002
*
Taliban iconoclasm, March 2001
*
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
theft, 22 March 2001
*
September 11 attacks, 2001
*
Marielle Schwengel's destruction of stolen art, November 2001
*
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum (formerly ''Stedelijk Museum van Haarlem'') is a museum in the North Holland city of Haarlem, the Netherlands, founded in 1862, known as the Art Museum of Haarlem. Its collection is based on the city's own rich collection, b ...
theft, 25 March 2002
*Edenhurst Gallery theft, 28 July 2002
*
Russborough House art theft #4, September 2002
*
Van Gogh Museum theft, 8 December 2002
*
2003 Iraq War
**
National Museum of Iraq thefts, 8–12 April 2003
*
Kunsthistorisches Museum theft, 11 May 2003
*
Drumlanrig Castle theft, 27 August 2003
*
Momart fire, 24 May 2004
*
Santo Spirito in Sassia
Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian language, Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century Titular church, titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in ''Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name fr ...
Hospital theft, 31 July 2004
*
Munch Museum theft, 22 August 2004
*Neumann Foundation theft, 27 October 2004
*
Victoria and Albert Museum theft, 29 December 2004
*
Westfries Museum theft, 9 January 2005
*
Henry Moore Foundation theft, 15 December 2005
*
Strindberg Museum theft, 15 February 2006
*
Museu da Chácara do Céu, Rio de Janeiro theft, 24 February 2006
*
São Paulo Museum of Art theft, 20 December 2007
*
Foundation E.G. Bührle theft, 10 February 2008
*
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo theft, 12 June 2008
*
Hélio Oiticica fire, 16 October 2009
*
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris theft, 10 May 2010
*
Dulwich Park theft, 20 December 2011
*
Kunsthal Art theft, 16 October 2012
*
Clandon House fire, 29 April 2015
*
National Museum of Brazil fire, 2 September 2018
*
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
**
Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum destruction, February 2022
List of notable missing artworks
This section lists articles or article sections on lost works.
File:Ghent Altarpiece E - Just Judges (original painting).jpg, ''Just Judges'' from the Ghent Altarpiece
File:The Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest, by Willem van Haecht.jpg, ''The Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest'' (1628), by Willem van Haecht, which includes the lost Van Eyck ''Woman Bathing'' as well as the lost ''Portrait of Albrecht Dürer in Black Hat and Cloak''
File:Cornelis Bos - Leda and the Swan - WGA2486.jpg, Cornelis Bos' engraving of ''Leda and the Swan'' by Michelangelo
File:Peter Paul Rubens 122.jpg, Rubens' copy of Titian's ''Isabella d'Este in Red''
File:Rubens, copia dell'ercole di michelangelo, louvre.jpg, Rubens' sketch of Michelangelo's ''Hercules'' marble statue
File:Landscape with two people.jpg, Renoir's ''Landscape with Two People'' as it appears in ''Bazille's Studio''
Chronology of notable find events
*Gurlitt Collection#2012 discovery by German tax authorities, 2012 Discovery of the Gurlitt Collection
List of Wikipedia articles on notable finds
File:Laocoön and his sons group.jpg, ''Laocoön and His Sons''
File:Cimabue Christ Mocked.jpg, ''The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue), The Mocking of Christ'' by Cimabue
File:The Taking of Christ-Caravaggio (c.1602).jpg, ''The Taking of Christ (Caravaggio), The Taking of Christ'' by Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
File:Monet Claude, The Beach at Pourville, 1882.jpg, ''Beach in Pourville'' by Claude Monet
File:Van Gogh - Die Kirche von Nuenen mit Kirchgängern.jpeg, ''Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen'' by Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...
Lists of Wikipedia articles on notable destroyed artworks
File:Statue of Zeus.jpg, 16th century artistic representation of how the Statue of Zeus at Olympia might have looked.
File:Colosse de Rhodes (Barclay).jpg, The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
File:Caravaggio 356.jpg, ''Portrait of a Courtesan (Caravaggio), Portrait of a Courtesan'' by Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
, formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, Berlin
File:Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Dresden) Galeriewerk Braun 0522.jpg, A lost Christus head by Annibale Carracci
File:Van Dyck - Magistrates of Brussels - grisaille.jpg, Grisaille sketch of ''Magistrates of Brussels'', in the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris
See also
* Art discovery
*List of missing treasures
*Lost film
*Lost literary work
*List of destroyed heritage
*List of destroyed libraries
*List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
Notes
References
Notes
Bibliography
Books
*
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Journals
*
News
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External links
*
The Story of Leonardo da Vinci's HorseLost Art. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Library Collections. In the Library's Photographs and Clippings Files.Lost Art — Masterpieces Destroyed in War
in Flickr
Destroyed Works of Art and Architecture Group
in Flickr
{{Destroyed heritage
Lost works of art,