August 5, 2024
European Art

A reckoning over looted art


Thousands of artifacts in U.S. and European collections were stolen from their countries of origin. Should they be sent back?  Here’s everything you need to know: 

How big is the stolen art market?

The illicit trade in cultural goods — from ancient friezes to coins and works of modern art — is estimated to be worth $10 billion a year, according to UNESCO. In the U.S. alone, the FBI’s Art Crime Team has over the past 20 years recovered some 20,000 pieces collectively valued at more than $900 million. Resolving a case can be as simple as returning a burglarized painting to its owner. But often it means
reckoning with much larger wrongs. Thousands of works that were looted amid
war, genocide or colonial occupation can be found in some of the world’s most distinguished museums and private collections. In recent years, activists and governments have launched campaigns to get artworks returned to their countries of origin, achieving considerable success. More than 50 international restitutions have taken place this year. In recent weeks, U.S. investigators have seized from American museums ancient Roman sculptures thought to have been looted from Turkey in the 1960s and paintings by expressionist Egon Schiele, which the Nazis stole from a Holocaust victim. Restitution of such works is “more than a legal matter of who has clear title,” said Elizabeth Campbell, an expert in art collection ethics. “It’s a moral issue.”

Who are the key players in this trade?



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