Art Crime: Theft, Forgery, and the Fight Against a Multi-Billion Dollar Black Market

Art-related crimes, such as theft and forgery, are estimated to yield between $6 and $8 billion each year. In August 1911, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia. Recent high-profile incidents include the Knoedler Gallery scandal of 2011, where forgeries attributed to Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, valued at $60 million, were sold. In the 1990s, forgers John Myatt and John Drewe manipulated London archives, with over 100 Myatt forgeries still in existence. The rise of online looting, intensified by ISIS's devastation in Palmyra, led to the discovery of 45 crates containing 17,000 looted artifacts in Geneva in 2016. Significant thefts include Edvard Munch's The Scream on February 12, 1994, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery on St. Patrick's Day. To combat these issues, scientific analysis and blockchain technology are being utilized. Professor Gareth Fletcher presented these findings at the Bedford Square Festival 2018 at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London.