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2nd out of 87 books
—
22 voters
Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft
The true story behind the blank spaces on the museum walls.
What kind of person would dare to steal a legendary painting—and who would buy something so instantly recognizable? In recent years, art theft has captured the public imagination more than ever before, spurred by both real life incidents (the snatching of Edvard Munch’s well-known masterwork The Scream) and the gla...more
What kind of person would dare to steal a legendary painting—and who would buy something so instantly recognizable? In recent years, art theft has captured the public imagination more than ever before, spurred by both real life incidents (the snatching of Edvard Munch’s well-known masterwork The Scream) and the gla...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
October 28th 2006
by Sterling
(first published January 1st 2006)
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This is an interesting book about the history of art theft and the crazy things people do, and ultimately the loss to everyone when cultural objects are stolen. It is pretty fascinating even if you're interested art history at all. It is a history of art thefts, some solved, many still open, and concludes with a wonderful appendix of a "museum of the missing" - color plates of works still lost to theft.
It inspired the documentary "The Rape of Europa," although the movie focused only on art stole...more
It inspired the documentary "The Rape of Europa," although the movie focused only on art stole...more
What kind of person would dare to steal a legendary painting—and who would buy something so instantly recognizable? In recent years, art theft has captured the public imagination more than ever before, spurred by both real life incidents (the snatching of Edvard Munch’s well-known masterwork The Scream) and the glamorous fantasy of such Hollywood films as The Thomas Crown Affair. The truth is, according to INTERPOL records, more than 20,000 stolen works of art are missing—including Rembrandts, R...more
Feb 14, 2013
Lance Charnes
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Readers who want true crime with pretty pictures
Shelves:
nonfiction-crime-espionage
Museum of the Missing is a fast, solid introduction to and survey of art theft over the past century.
Houpt – a Canadian arts columnist for The Globe and Mail – writes as if the reader knows a painting from a statue and has at least heard of the big names in art, but has no specialized knowledge of either art or the art market. By and large this works well; he doesn’t bother explaining who Rembrandt or Picasso are, but will spend a line identifying some of the less-famous names he mentions.
Likewi...more
Houpt – a Canadian arts columnist for The Globe and Mail – writes as if the reader knows a painting from a statue and has at least heard of the big names in art, but has no specialized knowledge of either art or the art market. By and large this works well; he doesn’t bother explaining who Rembrandt or Picasso are, but will spend a line identifying some of the less-famous names he mentions.
Likewi...more
This is a good overview of art theft and why we should care about the loss of cultural treasures, whether they are fine arts or antiquities. The best part of the book is the photos of the beautiful paintings and items that have been stolen--which is the saddest part of the book. The authors don't include in their comprehensive catalog much of the art that went missing during the Holocaust, although they have a good chapter about the subject. Recommended for anyone interested in art history or ar...more
The color reproductions of artwork are fabulous. Houpt, I think, does a really nice job of summarizing major issues with art theft, contemporary and historical. Great stories, well told. I like that he centers focus on the Gardner theft, unsolved to date. Obviously, this work is a scratch on the surface of all that's really happened, worldwide. Role of war, and now, drug trafficking, in art theft business is certainly food for thought.
Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simon Houpt (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc 2006)(364.162)is a brilliant book about art theft. It describes the business inside and out and contains a long section of famous works of art that are currently missing. My rating: 7/10, finished 3/2/12.
A fairly lightweight treatment of art theft over the ages. There are many distracting sidebars focused on specific incidents and aspects of the art trade, and the narrative never goes into detail on even the most notorious thefts. This one may serve as an introduction to the subject, but can be ignored by more serious students.
The figures of art theft are startling, as is the nerve of certain thieves! It all makes for an enthralling but quite sad volumes with, incidentally, beautiful illustrations of masterpieces that may never be seen again for real.
Houpt has a pragmatic but elegant style that serves the topic well. Beautiful color plates of much the stolen art he addresses. An even, balanced treatment of art theft and recovery that does not obsess over any one artist or art rescuer.
I'm an easy target for those authors that'll write a good art theft story, history, outline, movie, anything! But why didn't this make 5 stars? Well I'll tell you. Simon Houpt was insistent on reminding me of how boring art thievery can be. In fact, he spends a lot of time dwelling on the institutional theft of art by countries during times of war.
Yes, he's probably right that art theft is just another buck for most criminals and he's probably right that they're just as likely to use brute stre...more
Yes, he's probably right that art theft is just another buck for most criminals and he's probably right that they're just as likely to use brute stre...more
A quick, fairly satisfying introduction to the subject. It reads like a series of short stories and anecdotes, and the full color pictures ground the book nicely.
An overview of art theft, with a focus on relatively recent (last 25 or so) years. Includes color plates of stolen (and recovered) items.
I think this makes a better coffee table book than straight read. It has interesting points, but nothing of depth. The reproductions are very high quality and are nice to look at. I also enjoy the listing of pieces that are still missing at the end.
This book has a wonderful index of art pieces that are still missing. Very extensive in its details.
A nice, if somewhat brief overview of art theft in recent times... I found the catalog in the back particularly interesting.
Usually collection of vinettes are crappy, this one isn't! All those missing paintings!
Loved it...thanks to a son who is proficient in art. Some of it has rubbed off on me.
I loved this book. It's a great introduction to the history of art theft. The book starts with theft during war (and the Nazi's and the billions of dollars of artwork that they stole, destroyed and lost) and continues to the present (where artwork is traded for drugs). I should have read this book before reading Robert Wittman's book Priceless and The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick (both of which are mentioned in this book). I especially enjoyed the appendix at the end- "Gallery of Missing Art"...more
Didn't actually finish - sorry Mom!
so interesting and so deplorable that so many great art treasures may never be seen again
Oct 23, 2011
Lois Browne
added it
Interesting overview of many high profile thefts with entertaining details.
Reading Museum of the Missing felt a little like reading a high school text book entitled "Introduction to Art Theft." It was a fascinating topic, and the book was full of interesting stories and lots of beautiful pictures, but I guess I wanted more. Actually, now that I think about it, it was kind of like watching a show about art theft on Discovery or History channel. I think my favorite part was the gallery of missing art at the end of the book.
Interesting overview of causes and effects of art theft worldwide. Being an art geek, I found it fun to read!
This was borrowed from the library. It inspired the documentary "The Rape of Europa," although the movie focused only on art stolen during WWII. That was the most compelling chapter of this book as well, but the information about modern art detectives was also fascinating. I enjoyed his diatribes against the glamorization of art thieves in Hollywood. This was a good overview of the subject.
If you want a quick and easy survey of art stolen mostly over the past century read this book. If you want something with a little more depth read something else. The book is well written and lavishly illustrated with photos of what you may never see again. It ends with a plea for citizens and governments to take this problem more seriously.
So far I'm finding it interesting, but Houpt does not go into enough depth and barely scratches the topic. More like an overview or something you might see on the History Channel. Many short vignettes and editorializing, by the author. However, the photos are wonderful. At the end of the book, there is a photo gallery which is my favorite part.
This one is pretty fascinating if you're into art history at all. It is a history of art thefts, some solved, many still open, and concludes with an appendix with actually is a "museum of the missing" - color plates of works still lost to theft.
The topic is incredibly interesting and to it's credit this book has great full color illustrations and pictures. I thought it didn't have enough content. It was a like a quick overview of art theft without really getting into any details.
Why does this subject interest me? It's amazing that someone somewhere has a beautiful masterpiece hidden either for self-pleasure or because of ignorance. These artists whose work has been stolen will never pass our way again.
Loved this!! It was really facinating and I learned a lot but I felt that it could have been more detailed...more indepth. Certainly perfect for anyone who hasn't studied Art History, however.
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| Art Crime: Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft | 4 | 4 | Feb 29, 2012 08:37pm |
Aug 20, 2012 05:39am