Lost artworks


Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources or material evidence indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections, as well as works known to have been destroyed deliberately or accidentally or neglected through ignorance and lack of connoisseurship.

Research and recovery efforts

The Art Loss Register is a commercial computerized international database which captures information about lost and stolen art, antiques and collectables. It is operated by a commercial company based in London.
In the U.S., the FBI maintains the , "a database of stolen art and cultural property. Stolen objects are submitted for entry to the NSAF by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad."
A number of search and recovery efforts were created in response to major loss events, notably:
  • Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, 1943–1946
  • Bureau of Revindication and Damages, operated from 1945 to 1951
  • Bureau of the Government Representative for Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad, 1991-

    Chronology of notable loss events

  • Rhodes earthquake, 226 BCE
  • First Mithridatic War, 89-85 BCE
  • *Sack of Athens, 1 March 86 BCE
  • Antikythera shipwreck, 86-50 BCE
  • Lauseion fire, 475
  • Nika riots, 13 January 532-
  • Byzantine Iconoclasm
  • *Iconoclasm of Leo III, 726-741
  • *Second Byzantine Iconoclasm, 814-842
  • Jin–Song wars, 1125–1234
  • *Jingkang Incident, 10 January 1126-
  • Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204
  • *Sack of Constantinople, 12–15 April 1204
  • Bonfire of the vanities, 1492–1497
  • *Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 1492
  • *Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 7 February 1497
  • Palazzo Bentivoglio destruction, 1507
  • Iconoclastic Fury, 1522–1599
  • *Beeldenstorm, 1566
  • *"Stille beeldenstorm" of Antwerp, 1581
  • Doge's Palace fire, 1576
  • El Pardo Palace fire, 1604
  • Russo-Swedish Deluge 1648-1667
  • *Destruction of the Commonwealth
  • Bombardment of Brussels, 13–15 August 1695
  • *Brussels Town Hall fire, 13–15 August 1695
  • Palace of Whitehall fire, 4 January 1698
  • André-Charles Boulle workshop fire, 30 August 1720
  • Coudenberg Palace fire, 3 February 1731
  • Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire, 24 December 1734
  • Kroměříž Palace fire, March 1752
  • Lisbon earthquake and tsunami, 1 November 1755
  • *Ribeira Palace destruction
  • Vrouw Maria sinking, 9 October 1771
  • French Revolution, 1789–1799
  • Napoleonic looting of art, 1794-1814
  • Exton Old Park fire, 1810
  • Belvoir Castle fire, 1816
  • Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura fire, 1823
  • Burning of Parliament, 16 October 1834
  • Palais-Royal looting, 21–22 February 1848
  • Old Summer Palace destruction, 18–21 October 1861
  • Museum Boymans fire, 1864
  • Paris Commune, 18 March-28 May 1871
  • *Hôtel de Ville fire, May 1871
  • *Tuileries Palace fire, 23 May 1871
  • Holker Hall fire, 1871
  • Great Boston Fire of 1872
  • Bath House fire, 31 January 1873
  • Pantechnicon warehouse fire, London, 13–14 February 1874
  • Benin City sacking, 9 February 1897
  • San Francisco Earthquake, April 18, 1906
  • Messina Earthquake, 28 December 1908
  • Mona Lisa theft and vandalism, 21 August 1911
  • World War I, 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
  • Russian Revolution and post-revolution losses, 1917-1920s
  • *Treasures for Tractors, 1920s
  • Thames flood, 7 January 1928
  • Glaspalast fire, 6 June 1931
  • Nazi plunder, 1933–1945
  • *Berlin Fire Department art burning, 20 March 1939
  • *Frey seizures
  • *Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce seizures, 1940–1945
  • *Mühlmann Agency seizures, 1939–1945
  • *World War II looting of Poland, 1939–1945
  • Ghent Altarpiece panels theft, 10 April 1934
  • Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939
  • World War II, 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945
  • *Gosford House fire, 1940
  • *Castle Howard fire, 9 November 1940
  • *The Blitz, 7 September 1940 – 21 May 1941
  • **Bridgewater House bombing, 11 May 1941
  • *Bombardment of Manila, December 1941
  • *Bombing of Bremen, 1942
  • *Palazzo Archinto bombing, 1943
  • *Battle of Monte Cassino, 17 January – 18 May 1944
  • *Ovetari Chapel bombing, 11 March 1944
  • *Destruction of Warsaw, 1944–45
  • **Royal Castle, Warsaw explosion
  • *Bombing of Dresden, February 1945
  • *Battle of Manila, 3 February – 3 March 1945
  • *Schloss Immendorf fire, May 1945
  • *Friedrichshain flak tower fire, May 1945
  • *Ashiya District air raids, 5–6 August 1945
  • *Quedlinburg medieval art theft, 19 April – June 1945
  • *Soviet looting, 1939–1945
  • Kronberg Castle looting, 5 November 1945
  • Arno Breker Sculpture Destruction, 1945-
  • Arshile Gorky studio fire, 1946
  • Alfred Stieglitz Gallery theft, 1946
  • Musée de Beaux Arts de Strasbourg fire, 13 August 1947
  • Coleshill House fire, 1952
  • Museum of Modern Art fire, 15 August 1958
  • American Airlines Flight 1 plane crash, 1962
  • Dulwich College Picture Gallery theft, 30 December 1966
  • Izmir Archaeology Museum theft, 24 July 1969
  • Oratory of San Lorenzo theft, October 1969
  • Stephen Hahn Gallery theft, 17 November 1969
  • Montreal Museum of Fine Arts robbery, 4 September 1972
  • Musée Albert-André, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, theft, 12 November 1972
  • Invasion of Cyprus church thefts, 1974
  • Russborough House art theft #1, 1974
  • Palais des Papes Picasso theft, 31 January 1976
  • Corridart installation destruction, Montreal, 1976
  • Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro fire, 8 July 1978
  • Varig plane disappearance, 30 January 1979
  • L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art theft, 15 April 1983
  • Kunsthaus Zürich incendiary attack, 1985
  • Huntington Library fire, 17 October 1985
  • Musée Marmottan Monet theft, 28 October 1985
  • Russborough House art theft #2, 1986
  • Neue Nationalgalerie theft, 27 May 1988
  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, 18 March 1990
  • Lincoln's Inn theft, 16 September 1990
  • Houghton Hall theft, 30 September 1992
  • Windsor Castle fire, 20 November 1992
  • Uffizi car bombing, 1993
  • Moderna Museet theft, 8 November 1993
  • The Scream theft, 12 February 1994
  • Kunsthalle Schirn theft, 28 July 1994
  • Stéphane Breitwieser: 172 museum thefts, 1995–2001
  • Galleria d'arte moderna Ricci Oddi theft, 18 February 1997
  • Louvre theft, 3 May 1998
  • Swissair Flight 111 plane crash, 2 September 1998
  • Ashmolean Museum theft, 31 December 1999
  • Nationalmuseum theft, 22 Dec 2000
  • Russborough House art theft #3, 2001
  • National Museum, Poznań theft, September 2000
  • Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art theft, 2000–2002
  • Taliban iconoclasm, March 2001
  • Hermitage Museum theft, 22 March 2001
  • September 11 attacks, 2001
  • Marielle Schwengel's destruction of stolen art, November 2001
  • Frans Hals Museum theft, 25 March 2002
  • Edenhurst Gallery theft, 28 July 2002
  • Russborough House art theft #4, September 2002
  • Van Gogh Museum theft, 8 December 2002
  • 2003 Iraq War
  • *National Museum of Iraq thefts, 8–12 April 2003
  • Kunsthistorisches Museum theft, 11 May 2003
  • Drumlanrig Castle theft, 27 August 2003
  • Momart fire, 24 May 2004
  • Santo Spirito in Sassia Hospital theft, 31 July 2004
  • Munch Museum theft, 22 August 2004
  • Neumann Foundation theft, 27 October 2004
  • Victoria & Albert Museum theft, 29 December 2004
  • Westfries Museum theft, 9 January 2005
  • Henry Moore Foundation theft, 15 December 2005
  • Strindberg Museum theft, 15 February 2006
  • Museu da Chácara do Céu, Rio de Janeiro theft, 24 February 2006
  • São Paulo Museum of Art theft, 20 December 2007
  • Foundation E.G. Bührle theft, 10 February 2008
  • Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo theft, 12 June 2008
  • Hélio Oiticica fire, 16 October 2009
  • Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris theft, 10 May 2010
  • Dulwich Park theft, 20 December 2011
  • Kunsthal Art theft, 16 October 2012
  • Clandon House fire, 29 April 2015
  • National Museum of Brazil fire, 2 September 2018
  • Christ Church Picture Gallery theft, 14 March 2020
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • *Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum destruction, February 2022
  • 2025 Louvre theft, 19 October 2025

    List of notable missing artworks

This section lists articles or article sections on lost works.
Artist and workCreation date Year lost Loss eventCommission, provenance, documentation and surviving copies notes
Phidias Athena Parthenos-447447 BCE950Originally in the Parthenon. Replicas and other works inspired by the original.
Lysippus Agias bronze-399399-400 BCEMarble copy found and preserved in Delphi
Lysippus Eros Stringing the Bow bronze-399399-400 BCEVarious copies exist
Lysippus Alexander the Great bronzes-356356-323 BCE
Lysippus Oil Pourer bronze-340 340-330 BCERoman marble copies
Lysippus Hercules bronze-340 340-330 BCEMarble copy by Glykon
Lysippus Apoxyomenos bronze-330 330 BCEMultiple marble copies
Saint Luke Hodegetria0060 60-84 AD1261Many copies exist.
Giotto Madonna panel1297-13371406-Bequeathed by Petrarch to Francesca da Carrara, lord of Padua, in 1370
Scolland/Lanfranc, embroiderers Bayeux Tapestry, portions1070-10791137-Estate dispersalPossibly in possession of Adela of Normandy
Duccio Virgin of the Assumption13081771DismantledPanel of the Maestà altarpiece
Duccio Ascension of Christ13081771DismantledPanel of the Maestà altarpiece
Duccio Christ in Majesty13081771DismantledPanel of the Maestà altarpiece
Giotto Stories of the Apostles frescoes1314-13281700-1799WhitewashedFor the Giugni Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
Martini, Simone Laura 1327-1344Portrait is the subject of Sonnets 77 and 78, Rime sparse by Petrarch
Giotto Commune of Florence allegorical fresco1328-1337Palazzo del Podestà. Vasari described a seated judge with sceptre, flanked by figures of Fortitude, Prudence, Justice and Temperance.
Van Eyck Woman Bathing1420-14301628-Depicted in Willem van Haecht's Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest; it or a copy was in Antwerp in 1628
Fra Angelico Painted Crucifix1423For the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Van Eyck The Just Judges1430-14321934Ghent Altarpiece theftGhent Altarpiece panel. A photograph of the original and copies exist.
Grenier, Jean Great History of Troy tapestries14881829Renovation saleIn the Painted Chamber from 1490 to 1799. John Carter produced watercolor sketches of the tapestries in the 1790s. In possession of Mr Teschemacher in 1829.
Lombardo, Tullio Eve14901819Lost when the Vendramin tomb was moved to Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
Giorgione The Birth of Paris1492-15101650-Copied by David Teniers the Younger. Fragment of two shepherds may survive at Museum of Fine Arts.
Carpaccio The Trial of Saint Stephen1511-15201806Napoleonic lootingScuola di San Stefano, Venice. A drawing for the modello survives in the Uffizi
da Vinci Medusa <15001553-1599Collection of Cosimo I
da Vinci Leda and the Swan15081625-Disappeared from Fontainebleau. Wilton House has a copy by Cesare da Sesto.
da Vinci The Battle of Anghiari15051555-1572RenovationPalazzo Vecchio. Central section copied by Rubens
Correggio Albinea Madonna1517-15191657-Collection of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Michelangelo Leda and the Swan1530Gifted to Antonio Mini, taken to France then disappeared. Engraved by Cornelis Vos in 1537
Michelangelo Hercules marble1492-14941713-1733RenovationDisappeared during the destruction of the Jardin de l'Etange at Fontainebleau.
Michelangelo David resting his foot on the severed head of Goliath bronze1502-15081794-1795French RevolutionChateau de Villeroy
Raphael Portrait of a Young Man1513-15141939Nazi plunder
Raphael Saint Catherine of Alexandria1655-English Civil War / Estate dispersalCollection of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. Engraved by Wenceslas Hollar
Vincidor, Tommaso Portrait of Albrecht Dürer in Black Hat and Cloak1520Depicted in the 17th-century gallery of Cornelis van der Geest painted by Willem van Haecht
Cellini The Wedding of Neptune and Amphitrite silver bowl1796Napoleonic looting or reparationsTaken from the Chapter of the Basilica of Santa Barbara, Modena
Brueghel the Elder Market DayDepicted in the 17th-century gallery of Cornelis van der Geest painted by Willem van Haecht
Titian Portrait of Isabella d'Este in Red1524-15361640-Estate dispersalA copy by Rubens is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Titian Venus in Front of her Mirror1555-15761800-1899Spanish royal collection. A copy by Rubens survives
Vasari or Bronzino Portrait of Bianca Cappello1572-1842Estate dispersalPurchased from Vitelli palace and gifted to Horace Walpole in 1754. Auctioned from Strawberry Hill House in 1842
Carracci Christ head1580-16091945World War IIGemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden
Lorrain, Claude Aeneas and the Sibyl of Cumae1666-1673Collection of Prince Falconieri. Liber Veritatis 183
Rubens Judith Beheading Holofernes1609Known only though the 1610 engraving by Cornelis Galle the Elder
Rubens Susannah and the Elders1617-1618Engraved 1620 by Lucas Vosterman
Rubens Satyr, Nymph, Putti and Leopards1618Now known only from engraving
Rubens Equestrian Portrait of the Archduke Albert
Van Dyck Portrait of Jules Mazarin before his appointment as Cardinal16411652The FrondeSold by the Tribunal of Paris in early 1652
Poussin Women Bathing1633-1634Luigi Omodei collection.
Rembrandt The Circumcision16461700-1799Collection of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum has a presumptive copy.
Vermeer Gentleman washing his hands in a perspectival room with figures, artful and rare1653-751696-Last known at the Dissius auction, Holland, sold for 95 guilders
Gerard Dou The Nursery1660s1771Vrouw Maria sinkingAcquired by Catherine the Great
Caravaggio A portrait of Alof de Wignacourt
Caravaggio Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence16091969StolenOratory of San Lorenzo, Palermo
Velasquez The Jester Francesco de Ochoa1633-16401701-Queen's quarters, Buen Retiro Palace
Velasquez Cardenas the Toreador1633-16401701-Queen's quarters, Buen Retiro Palace
Velasquez Pelican with Bucket and Donkeys1623-16351701-Buen Retiro Palace
Reni, Guido Bacchus from Bacchus and Ariadne ceiling painting1638-401650DisassembledHenrietta Maria of France then Michel Particelli d'Émery collection, cut to pieces for easier sale by his estate. Ariadne was rediscovered in 2002.
Oudry, Jean-Baptiste The White Duck17531990Houghton Hall theft
Watteau Autumn1717-17181820-Pierre Crozat collection. Engraved in the Recueil Jullienne.
Watteau Winter1717-17181920-Pierre Crozat collection. Engraved in the Recueil Jullienne.
Oudry, Jean-Baptiste Jay and Oriole Hung by the FeetExhibited at the Salon of 1751
Tiepolo, Gianbattista Mars Resting ceiling painting1762-17681941World War IIRinaldi's Chinese palace, Oranienbaum. Sent to Pavlovsk for safety, vanished
West, Benjamin Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain in the Year 17831783-18111811-John Eardley Wilmot collection, two replicas survive
David Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau on his Death Bed1793Exhibited with David's Marat in the courtyard of the Louvre, 16 October 1793. An engraving by Anatole Desvoges exists
Blake A Vision of the Last Judgment1808Earlier versions and sketches survive, but the final version has not been seen since the cancellation of an 1810 exhibit it was to have been part of
Turner Aeneas Relating his Story to Dido1850
Banvard, John Mississippi River Panorama1840-18461850-1899Cut into pieces
Renoir Summer Evening18641865Paris Salon
Renoir Landscape with two people18661939-1945Nazi Plunder and Soviet lootingDepicted in Bazille's Studio. Lower half survives as Woman with a Bird
Monet La Sortie du port1867-1868Studies and sketches survive as The Entrance to the Port of Le Havre .
Cézanne View of Auvers-sur-Oise1873-18751999Ashmolean Museum theft
Bracquemond, Marie Les Muses des arts18781919-Last reported location was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1919
Bracquemond, Marie The Swallow1880
Vereshchagin, Vasily Suppression of the Indian Revolt by the English18841891-Sold in New York to an unknown buyer
Hirémy-Hirschl, Adolf The Plague in Rome1884
Van Gogh The Lovers: The Poet's Garden IV18881937Nazi plunderDeclared degenerate and confiscated
Saint-Gaudens Diana bronze sculpture 1891-1892Designed to crown the Madison Square Garden tower. Replaced by the artist with a lighter, smaller copper version
Cassatt Modern Woman tympanum mural18921893-Institutional neglectOver Women's Building entrance, World's Columbian Exposition
Fabergé Hen with Sapphire Pendant18861922Russian Revolution
Fabergé Cherub with Chariot18881922Russian Revolution
Fabergé Necessaire egg18891922Russian Revolution
Fabergé Mauve egg18981922Russian Revolution
Jovanović, Paja Furor Teutonicus monumental painting18991911-1939Institutional neglectChilean National Museum of Fine Arts. Belgrade City Museum has a heliogravure copy and sketch in oils.
Fabergé Royal Danish Egg19031922Russian Revolution
Fabergé Alexander III Commemorative Egg19091922Russian Revolution
Metzinger, Jean Nu à la cheminée1910Black & white images survive
Metzinger, Jean Man with a Pipe1911-19121998Missing from Lawrence University since 1998, having disappeared while in transit on loan. Images survive
Gleizes, Albert Paysage près de Paris 19121937Nazi plunderBlack & white image survive
Metzinger, Jean En Canot19131938-Nazi plunderDisplayed at the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich and other cities, 1937-1938, confiscated. Black & white images survive
Dix The Trench19361937Nazi Plunder
Bacon Study after Velázquez III1950-19531953-Third in a series of portraits after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1650.
Duchamp Fountain 19171918Black & white images survive, as do sixteen artist-sanctioned replicas
Kapoor, Anish Hole and Vessel wood and cement sculpture19842004Probably stolenDiscovered missing from its storage unit
Serra Equal-Parallel/Guernica-Bengasi a 38-ton metal sculpture19862006Possibly theftFormerly displayed at the Reina Sofia museum. Could not be located in 2006