art thefts

"Art scams are today so numerous that the specter of a lawsuit arising from a mistaken attribution has scared a number of experts away from the business of authentication, and with good reason. Art scams are increasingly convincing and involve incredible sums of money. The cons perpetrated by unscrupulous art dealers and their accomplices are proportionately elaborate. The Art of the Con tells the stories of some of history's most notorious yet untold cons. They involve stolen art hidden for decades; elaborate ruses that involve the Nazis and allegedly plundered art; the theft of a conceptual prototype from a well-known artist by his assistant to be used later to create copies; the use of online and television auction sites to scam buyers out of millions; and other confidence scams incredible not only for their boldness but more so because they actually worked. Using interviews and newly released court documents, The Art of the Con will also take the reader into the investigations that led to the capture of the con men, who oftentimes return back to the world of crime. For some, it's an irresistible urge because their innocent dupes all share something in common: they want to believe"--.

Gabriel Allon, art restorer and occasional spy, searches for a stolen masterpiece by Caravaggio. Sometimes the best way to find a stolen masterpiece is to steal another one.

Henry, Anna, and Jose, the junior members of the Silver Jaguar Society, are on a mission in Paris to recover the Mona Lisa--but when senior members of the Society are taken hostage, it is up to Henry to rescue them while continuing to pursue the missing masterpiece.

"The world was stunned when eighty-year old Cornelius Gurlitt became an international media superstar in November 2013 on the discovery of over 1,400 artworks in his 1,076 square-foot Munich apartment, valued at around $1.35 billion. Gurlitt became known as a man who never was - he didn't have a bank account, never paid tax, never received social security. He simply did not exist. He had been hard-wired into a life of shadows and secrecy by his own father long before he had inherited his art collection built on the spoliation of museums and Jews during Hitler's Third Reich. The ensuing media frenzy unleashed international calls for restitution, unsettled international relations, and rocked the art world. Ronald reveals in this stranger-than-fiction-tale how Hildebrand Gurlitt succeeded in looting in the name of the Third Reich, duping the Monuments Men and the Nazis alike. As an "official dealer" for Hitler and Goebbels, Hildebrand Gurlitt became one of the Third Reich's most prolific art looters. Yet he stole from Hitler too, allegedly to save modern art. This is the untold story of Hildebrand Gurlitt, who stole more than art-he stole lives, too"--.

Simon Goodman's grandparents came from German Jewish banking dynasties and died in concentration camps. And that's all he knew because his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. When his father died, Simon and his brother received numerous boxes of old papers. And little by little the true story of the Goodman (or Gutmann in German) family began to emerge. An incredulous Simon soon realized that his grandparents had been wealthy beyond belief and all their real estate, priceless art treasues, and eventually their lives, had been stolen by the Nazis. Simon's father had made an effort to reclaim his family's history but it would be Simon who succeeded.

Tells the stories of iconic cultural objects that were stolen, smuggled or sold, and eventually returned back to their original owner. Author and reader encounter a cast of fascinating characters from the underbelly of the cultural world: unscrupulous grave robbers, sinister middlemen, ruthless art dealers, venal Nazis, canny lawyers, valiant academics, unstoppable investigative reporters, unwitting curators, and dedicated government officials.

"On vacation in Mexico, Eddie Red and his best friend Jonah must once again rely on Eddie's talent for drawing and his photographic memory to uncover clues to catch a crook when Eddie's father is falsely accused of a crime"--Provided by publisher.

When thirteen valuable pieces of art are stolen from a Chicago museum, five thirteen-year-olds must find them. But are the adults who hired them hiding something?.

"By the end of World War II, the Nazis had plundered roughly one-fifth of the entire art treasures of the world. This work explores the history and formation of the Nazi art collection and the methods used by Hermann G?ring and his party to strip occupied Europe of a large part of its artistic heritage"--Provided by publisher.