Megamurals, Guerrilla Girls and something rotten in the Oval Office – the week in art

The Guardian's weekly art roundup highlights several exhibitions, including Wilhelm Sasnal's politically charged paintings at Sadie Coles HQ in London, a Joan Eardley retrospective in Edinburgh, and a Guerrilla Girls show in East Sussex. It also reports on Art UK's digitization of over 6,700 UK murals, the theft of Impressionist paintings from an Italian museum, and the discovery of a stolen ancient gold helmet.

Greece Creates New Art Crime Unit to Combat Forgery and Trafficking

Greece has enacted a comprehensive new law to combat art crime, establishing a specialized unit within the Ministry of Culture to target forgery, antiquities trafficking, and vandalism. The legislation introduces significantly harsher penalties, including fines up to €300,000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years, while expanding the scope of criminal activity to include the mere possession of forged works with intent to distribute.

Fastest Art Heist in History?

Thieves stole three valuable paintings by Cézanne, Matisse, and Renoir from a small museum in northern Italy in a heist that reportedly took less than three minutes. The combined value of the artworks is estimated at around $10 million.

Louvre Museum Jewel Heist Inspires Latest ‘Law & Order’ Episode

The long-running television series Law & Order has adapted the recent high-profile Louvre Museum jewel heist into a new episode titled "Beyond Measure." Filmed at the Brooklyn Museum—serving as the fictional Atlas Museum of Art—the plot follows detectives investigating the theft of the bejeweled Crown of Popoyan, a fictionalized version of the real-world $102 million heist involving a cherry picker escape. The episode weaves in a complex subplot regarding the repatriation of Indigenous Colombian artifacts held by the Vatican.

The True Story of the Caravaggio Theft by the Sicilian Mafia Behind the 'Le Complot Caravaggio' Series on Arte

La véritable histoire du vol du Caravage par la mafia sicilienne derrière la série « Le Complot Caravaggio » sur Arte

The article details the infamous 1969 theft of Caravaggio's masterpiece, "Natività con i santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi" (The Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence), from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo, Sicily. The painting, a large-scale work measuring three by two meters, was expertly cut from its frame and has never been recovered, remaining second on the FBI's Top Ten Art Crimes list. The theft is widely attributed to the Sicilian Mafia, with theories suggesting it was stolen to order or for use in secret mafia gatherings.

The true story of the Caravaggio theft by the Sicilian Mafia behind the Arte series 'The Caravaggio Conspiracy'

La véritable histoire du vol du Caravage par la mafia sicilienne derrière la série « Le Complot Caravaggio » sur Arte

The theft of Caravaggio’s 'Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence' from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo remains one of the world's most notorious unsolved art crimes. Stolen in October 1969 by professional thieves who cut the massive three-meter canvas from its frame, the masterpiece has been missing for over 50 years. Investigations have long pointed toward the Sicilian Mafia, with various theories suggesting the work was displayed at secret summits, hidden in Switzerland, or tragically destroyed.

Rare Books Stolen From Ex-MoMA President’s Home Recovered After Nearly 40 Years

Seventeen rare books, valued at over $2 million and stolen nearly 40 years ago from the Long Island estate of former Museum of Modern Art president John Hay Whitney, have been recovered and will be returned to his descendants. The trove includes a $2 million portfolio of handwritten letters from poet John Keats and first editions of works by James Joyce and Aleister Crowley.

Rare Books Stolen From Ex-MoMA President’s Home Recovered After Nearly 40 Years

Seventeen rare books, valued at over $2 million and stolen nearly 40 years ago from the Long Island estate of former Museum of Modern Art president John Hay Whitney, have been recovered and will be formally returned to his descendants. The trove includes a first edition of James Joyce's *Finnegan's Wake*, letters from Oscar Wilde, and a portfolio of John Keats's love letters worth $2 million.

Major Brazilian art heist still unsolved as statute of limitations expires

The statute of limitations has officially expired on the 2006 heist at the Museu da Chácara do Céu in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most significant art thefts in Brazilian history. During the chaos of Carnival, armed thieves overpowered guards and stole masterpieces by Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso. Despite the works being valued at over $10 million and listed on international databases like Interpol and the Art Loss Register, the perpetrators were never identified and the art remains missing.

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Seven years after an undercover sting in Nice, France, recovered a cache of stolen artworks including several by Pablo Picasso, ten defendants are now on trial. The 2017 police operation, triggered by a tip from Belgium, involved officers posing as Swiss buyers who met a seller at a Nice hotel and were led to a house in Peillon filled with stolen pieces. Among the recovered works were Picasso's *Le vieux roi* and *Le clown*, along with other items traced to a burglary in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and an armed robbery in Èze. The trial consolidates earlier investigations into a suspected art theft and fencing network, with prosecutors alleging the Peillon property served as a storage and sales hub.

british museum treasure hunter stolen antiquities recovery 2734597

The British Museum is hiring a dedicated treasure hunter to recover hundreds of stolen antiquities, including gold jewelry and semi-precious stones allegedly taken by former curator Peter Higgs. Since the theft of some 1,500 objects was revealed in 2023, over a third have been recovered, but the museum is racing to find the remaining pieces before they are destroyed or melted down. The new role will focus on liaising with an international network of dealers, auction houses, and collectors, while also using open-source investigation and AI tools to track down items scattered globally.

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The British Museum is hiring a specialist to track down hundreds of stolen artifacts, primarily from its Greek and Roman collections, after thousands of items went missing in 2023. Tom Harrison, recently promoted to lead the department, is spearheading the recovery of treasures including gold jewelry, semiprecious stones, and glass dating back to the 15th century BCE. The museum has so far recovered 654 of an estimated 1,500 missing items, with efforts focused on private sales, catalogs, and historical archives, aided by open-source investigations and AI-assisted image matching. The scandal erupted when former curator Peter Higgs was sacked amid allegations of stealing, selling, and melting down artifacts over more than a decade; he denies the charges in an ongoing civil case.

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Five of seven valuable 18th-century snuffboxes stolen from Paris’s Cognacq-Jay Museum in November 2024 have been recovered. Paris Musées announced the return, crediting a police investigation with assistance from the Paris Criminal Investigation Department. The boxes were taken by masked thieves during a daylight robbery from the exhibition “Pocket Luxury.” Two of the recovered boxes were on loan from the Louvre, two from the British royal family’s Royal Collection Trust, and one from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Two more boxes, one from the V&A and one from the Royal Collection, remain missing. The stolen items, decorated with gold, precious stones, mother-of-pearl, or enamel, are estimated to be worth at least €1 million ($1.16 million).

1000 artifacts stolen oakland museum of california 1234759457

More than 1,000 artifacts were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage facility on October 15, 2023. The thieves broke in around 3:30 a.m., stealing jewelry, precious metals, pearls, Native American baskets and tools, antique daguerreotypes, political pins, laptops, and cameras. No security staff were on duty, and the entry was not through a door. The Oakland Police Department and the FBI's Art Crime Team are investigating, and no arrests have been made. The museum delayed announcing the theft to protect the investigation.

December Book Bag: from a photographic record of a lost nightclub to the tale of an accidental art heist

This article presents a roundup of four new art-related book releases for December. It covers Liz Johnson Artur's photographic monograph 'PDA' documenting a queer Black club night in London from 2011 to 2021; a survey of William Nicholson's career edited by Simon Martin, accompanying an exhibition at Pallant House Gallery; a monograph on Sandy Skoglund's surreal installations tied to a show at the McNay Art Museum; and Whit Rummel and Noah Charney's true-crime memoir 'The Accidental Picasso Thief' about a stolen Picasso painting that ended up in a forklift operator's home.

The Rembrandt robber: five takeaways from an insider’s book on a notorious art thief

Myles Connor, an experienced career criminal, stole Rembrandt's "Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn" from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on April 14, 1975, using the painting as leverage in another crime. In his new book "The Rembrandt Heist," Anthony Amore—director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—analyzes Connor's motivations and methods, presenting five key takeaways from the heist.

suspected fourth gang member behind louvre heist arrested 1234763889

On Tuesday, four more suspects were arrested in connection with the theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris last month. One of the men, arrested in Laval, is suspected of being the fourth gang member involved in the heist, which occurred on October 19 when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. The other three previously charged suspects were identified as Ayed G, Slimane K, and Abdoulaye N. Three relatives of the new suspect were also taken for questioning. One of the stolen pieces, a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie, was recovered outside the museum.

stolen banksy print recovered thief sentenced 2536351

A judge at London's Kingston Crown Court sentenced Larry Fraser to 13 months in jail for stealing a Banksy print of the iconic *Balloon Girl* image from Grove Gallery in September 2024. Fraser, who pleaded guilty, used a hammer to break a glass door and stole the print in 36 seconds, hoping to pay off a drug debt. The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad recovered the artwork within days after Fraser and accomplice James Love stashed it on the Isle of Dogs. Love was acquitted by a jury, claiming he was unaware of the theft until after the fact.

high potential tv series art heist 1234761360

The ABC television series *High Potential* aired a midseason finale episode titled “The One that Got Away,” in which protagonist Morgan Gillory, a cleaning lady turned police consultant, investigates a museum heist involving a $20 million Rembrandt painting, *Young Girl Leaning on a Windowsill*. The fictional theft—executed via a skylight rope descent, laser security disabling, and smoke bomb—eerily mirrored a real-life Louvre heist that occurred just a week after the episode was written, where thieves used a cherry picker and angle grinder to break through a window. The episode also touches on Nazi-looted art and a possible serial art thief named John Baptist.

louvre heist suspect is former museum guard social media influencer 1234760445

Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing the French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum last month. One suspect, identified as 39-year-old Abdoulaye N., is a former security guard at the Centre Pompidou and a social media influencer known for motocross stunts under the name Doudou Cross Bitume. His DNA was found at the crime scene, and he is suspected of breaking into the museum's Apollo gallery through an unsecured window before escaping on a motorbike. He has a prior criminal record including a 2014 jewelry store robbery conviction, and was due in court for a separate case. The stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.

oakland museum of california talks stolen artifacts 1234759735

A thief or group of thieves broke into the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage facility on October 15, stealing more than 1,000 objects including six Native American baskets, 19th-century scrimshaw, daguerreotypes, modernist metalwork jewelry, and historic memorabilia. The museum initially withheld details to aid the Oakland Police Department and FBI Art Crime Team investigation, but later released a statement calling it a crime of opportunity rather than a targeted theft.

five more suspects arrested over louvre jewel heist 1234759418

French authorities arrested five additional suspects in connection with the historic theft of Napoleonic jewelry from the Louvre Museum, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on Thursday. The coordinated raids took place in Paris and its northern suburbs, with one suspect identified through DNA evidence. The investigation has advanced by studying encrypted communications from seized phones. The heist occurred on October 19, when four masked thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery during opening hours, stealing nine artifacts worth approximately $102 million, though one crown was dropped during the escape. Two suspects were previously arrested on October 25, one at Charles de Gaulle Airport. The stolen jewels remain unrecovered, and authorities are searching the black market for them.

Twisting tale of ‘Henry VIII’s lost dagger’ to be told in London exhibition

An exhibition opening at Strawberry Hill House in London on November 1 will explore the history of a jewel-encrusted Ottoman dagger long believed to have belonged to Henry VIII. Curator Silvia Davoli has uncovered that the dagger was actually made in late 16th-century Istanbul, decades after Henry's death, and was mistakenly attributed to the king by 18th-century engraver George Vertue. The dagger was owned by Horace Walpole, then passed through several hands before being stolen in a 1946 heist at Hever Castle, where it was kept by the Astor family. Though the original dagger remains missing, the exhibition will display two similar Ottoman daggers from Welbeck Abbey and Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum.

german company launches viral ad campaign for louvre heist lift 1234758655

A family-run German company, Böcker, launched a viral advertising campaign on Facebook and Instagram featuring the furniture lift used in a recent Louvre jewel heist. The ad, with the tagline "When you need to move fast," depicts the Agilo furniture elevator that thieves used to enter the Louvre's Apollo Gallery, stealing approximately $102 million worth of Napoleonic jewelry in seven minutes. The company's marketing chief, Julia Scharwatz, said the campaign was inspired by the widespread circulation of a photo showing the lift at the scene, and that the response has been overwhelmingly positive, reaching 1.7 million views compared to their usual 15-20,000.

tv art authenticator claims he was contacted to authenticate stolen louvre jewels 1234758194

British art authenticator Curtis Dowling claims he received two phone calls on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from individuals asking him to authenticate "some important French jewelry," just hours after a $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre. The stolen pieces once belonged to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie and were taken by three masked men using chainsaws to breach a museum window. Dowling, who hosts the TV series "Treasure Detectives" on CNBC Prime Time, said the callers offered him cash far above his usual fee, which he declined, suspecting the jewels were stolen and that organized crime was involved.