From time to time, pieces of artwork are stolen, and painters, collectors and the like will do anything to get their prized possessions back. In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the most wanted missing art. Read on to discover more.
What Are The Most Valuable Pieces Of Stolen Art?
There is only one place to begin, and this is with the most valuable piece of stolen art in history, Vermeer’s The Concert. This painting is valued at £130 million and went missing in 1990 when it was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A reward of £3.2 million is offered for anyone that finds it.
Another reward of £3.2 million is offered for anyone that uncovers Rembrandt van Rijn’s Storm of the Sea of Galilee. This painting was also stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the same robbery. Thirteen years ago, two paintings were stolen from the Vincent van Gogh museum, the View of the Sea at Scheveningen and the Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen.
Two men have been convicted for the theft, yet the paintings are still uncovered. Collectively, they are worth approximately £25 million, and a reward of £870,000 is being offered. The final most wanted painting on the art loss register Lucian Freud’s portrait of Francis Bacon. £132,000 is the sum you will receive if you manage to uncover it. This painting disappeared in 1998, and it is believed to have been taken by a Bacon fan or student.
Register Your Missing Artwork
If you have been the victim of theft, or you have lost your valuable artwork, you need to take the necessary steps to try and recover the missing piece. One of the most important things to do is register your artwork with a lost art register or several of them.
Why is it important to register the details of your artwork with an art loss register? In many cases, if your artwork has been stolen, there will be someone who is trying to sell the piece at a profit. This individual will be approaching dealers, collectors and such to try and strike a deal.
As art theft is a known problem, these dealers are likely to search a database provided by an art recovery group so that they can make sure the artwork is not reported as stolen or missing. After all, they do not want to destroy their reputation by buying and selling a stolen piece of art. If they discover that someone is offering them a piece of stolen work, they will be able to report it, and this increases the chance of you getting your artwork back.
The best way to try and recover your art is through getting the message out that it is missing. Use the data from your B2B ecommerce platform about the art piece you intended to sell in order to try and recover it. You never know where it could turn up or who it is being offered to, and that is why a worldwide database is a must.
Image: Johannes Vermeer, The Concert, circa 1664 (detail)
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