Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections or are known to have been destroyed deliberately or accidentally, or neglected through ignorance and lack of connoisseurship. The US FBI maintains a list of "Top Ten Art Crimes"; a 2006 book by Simon Houpt and a 2018 book by Noah Charney and several other media outlets have profiled the most significant outstanding losses.

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, 13 January 532- *

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...

** Iconoclasm of Leo III, 726-741 ** Second Byzantine Iconoclasm, 814-842 *Jin–Song Wars, 1125–1234 ** Jingkang Incident (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 A bonfire of the vanities ( it, falò delle vanità) is a burning of objects condemned by religious authorities as occasions of sin. The phrase itself usually refers to the bonfire of 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican friar G ...

, Florence, 7 February 1497 * Palazzo Bentivoglio destruction, 1507 * Iconoclastic Fury, 1522–1599 **

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

, 1566 ** "Stille beeldenstorm" of Antwerp, 1581 * Doge's Palace fire, 1576 * Russo-Swedish Deluge 1648-1667 ** Destruction of the Commonwealth *

Bombardment of Brussels The bombardment of Brussels by troops of Louis XIV of France on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695, and the resulting fire were together the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. Brussels was mostly untouched by most other confl ...

, 13–15 August 1695 **

Brussels Town Hall The Town Hall (french: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Bru ...

fire, 13–15 August 1695 * Palace of Whitehall fire, 4 January 1698 * André-Charles Boulle 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 Ribeira Palace (; pt, Paço da Ribeira) was the main residence of the Kings of Portugal, in Lisbon, for around 250 years. Its construction was ordered by King Manuel I of Portugal when he found the Royal Alcáçova of São Jorge unsuitable. The ...

destruction *''

Vrouw Maria ''Vrouw Maria'' (''Lady Mary'') was a Dutch wooden two-masted merchant ship carrying a valuable cargo of art objects, captained by Raymund Lourens, that sank on 9 October 1771 in the outer archipelago of the municipality of Nagu, Finland, 11 ...

'' sinking, 9 October 1771 * French Revolution, 1789–1799 * Elgin Marbles removal, 1801–1805 * Exton Old Park fire, 1810 *

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

fire, 1816 * Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura fire, 1823 * Burning of Parliament, 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 Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest ...

fire, 1871 *

Great Boston Fire of 1872 The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was Boston's largest fire, and still ranks as one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history. The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, 1872, in the basement of a com ...

* 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 * Russian Revolution 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 (german: Raubkunst) was the stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Germany. The looting of Polish and Jewish property was a k ...

, 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 * Panels from the Ghent Altarpiece theft, 10 April 1934 *

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, 1936–1939 * World War II, 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945 ** Gosford House fire, 1940 **

Castle Howard Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years ...

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, 17 January – 18 May 1944 **

Ovetari Chapel The Ovetari Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Ovetari'') is a chapel in the right arm of the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. It is renowned for a Renaissance fresco cycle by Andrea Mantegna and others, painted from 1448 to 1457. The cycle was destroyed ...

bombing, 11 March 1944 ** Destruction of Warsaw, 1944–45 ***

Royal Castle, Warsaw The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( pl, Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king and the adm ...

explosion **

Bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Roya ...

, 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 Sculpture Destruction, 1945- *

Arshile Gorky Arshile Gorky (; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, hy, Ոստանիկ Մանուկ Ատոյեան; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of hi ...

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 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 The Kunsthaus Zürich is in terms of area the biggest art museum of Switzerland and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over the years by the local art association called '. The collection spans from the Midd ...

incendiary attack, 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 early 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its s ...

theft, 27 May 1988 * Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, 18 March 1990 * Lincoln's Inn 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 * Oklahoma City bombing (Murrah Building collapse), 19 April 1995 *Galleria Ricci Oddi theft, 18 February 1997 *

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

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 The National Museum in Poznań ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu), Poland, abbreviated MNP, is a state-owned cultural institution and one of the largest museums in Poland. It houses a rich collection of Polish painting from the 16th century on, an ...

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. It is the largest ...

theft, 22 March 2001 * September 11 attacks, 2001 ** World Trade Center Collapse, 11 September 2001 * Marielle Schwengel's destruction of stolen art, November 2001 *

Frans Hals Museum The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...

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: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou ...

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 The Westfries Museum is a museum of regional history established in the Dutch city of Hoorn. It was opened on 10 January 1880 and has been established in a monumental building dating to 1632. This building originally belonged to the Gecommitt ...

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 Dulwich Park is a public park in Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark, south London, England. The park was created by the Metropolitan Board of Works from former farmland and meadows. While the initial design was by Charles Barry (juni ...

theft, 20 December 2011 * Kunsthal Art theft, 16 October 2012 * Clandon House fire, 29 April 2015 * National Museum of Brazil fire, 2 September 2018 * Dresden Green Vault burglary 2019 *

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

**Burning of the Museum of Local History in the town of Ivankiv, Kyiv region, February 2022 **Destruction of

Research and recovery efforts

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
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-

List of notable lost artworks

File:Raphael missing.jpg, '' Portrait of a Young Man'' by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

File:Caravaggio 005.jpg, '' Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco'' by Caravaggio Est. (2006) US$20,000,000 File:Rembrandt Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee.jpg, '' Storm on the Sea of Galilee'' by Rembrandt Est. (2006) priceless File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 076.jpg, ''

Landscape with an Obelisk ''Landscape with Obelisk'' is a painting by Dutch artist Govert Flinck, painted in 1638. The oil-on-wood painting measures . It was formerly attributed to Rembrandt. The painting hung in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston, Massachusett ...

'' by

Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...

Est. (2006) priceless File:Vermeer The concert.JPG, ''The Concert'' by

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

Est. $20,000,000–priceless File:Alexander Egg.jpg, ''Alexander III Commemorative egg'' by Fabergé Est. $20–30,000,000 File:Danish Jubilee Egg.jpg, ''Royal Danish egg (Danish Jubilee egg)'' by Fabergé Est. $20–30,000,000 File:Van Gogh - Vase mit Pechnelken.jpeg, ''Vase with Lychnis'' by

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

File:Édouard Manet Chez Tortoni.jpg, '' Chez Tortoni'' by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French 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 to Impressionism. Bo ...

Est. (2006) priceless File:Cholmondeley Oudry White Duck.jpg, ''White Duck'' by

Jean-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-Ch ...

Est. (2006) US$8,800,000 File:View of Auvers-sur-Oise Paul Cezanne.png, ''View of Auvers-sur-Oise'' by Cézanne Est. (2006) US$3,000,000 File:Marcel Duchamp, 1917, Fountain, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz.jpg, Original of ''

Fountain 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 ori ...

'' 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, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

(1917)Calvin Tomkins, ''Duchamp: A Biography'', Museum of Modern Art, 2014, p. 186

Pre-16th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

List of notable finds

List of notable disputed finds

References

Notes

Bibliography

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Journals

News

* *

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 Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

Destroyed Works of Art and Architecture Group
in

{{Destroyed heritage