The Art Loss Register

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The Art Loss Register

The Art Loss Register is the world's largest private database of stolen, missing and looted art, antiques and collectibles, listing half a million items. 1.

The Art Loss Register (ALR) was established in 1990 and is based in London.

2. There are more than 700,000 items listed on the ALR database. The range of items is considerable and includes paintings, sculptures, antiquities, watches, clocks, jewellery, musical instruments, furniture, books and coins.

3. Furthermore, the ALR holds records of fakes and forgeries, items which are subject to a disp

ute, and items against which a loan has been secured. The ALR also offers a pre-loss registration service for museums and large permanent collections.

4. The ALR provides a due diligence service widely used across the art market. It routinely checks the catalogues of major auction houses and art fairs, checks art which is pledged as collateral and handles ad-hoc searches for dealers, museums, pawnbrokers and collectors. Over 450,000 items are searched against the database each year.

5. Worldwide, over 130 auction houses subscribe to the ALR to have their sales checked for stolen items. A list of all subscribing auction houses can be found on the following link: http://www.artloss.com/searching/auction-houses

6. The ALR’s due diligence services are employed by 14 major international art fairs, including Art Basel, TEFAF, Frieze Masters, Masterpiece, Cologne Fine Art and Art Cologne.

7. When a stolen item is located, the ALR offers a recovery service, working closely with law enforcement agencies and insurance companies. Follow us on:
https://twitter.com/artlossreg https://www.linkedin.com/company/art-loss-register

27/04/2026

Whitworth Art Gallery Theft: Three Artworks Stolen - All Recovered.

In the early hours of 27th April 2003, three works by Picasso, Gauguin and Van Gogh were stolen from Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery. The next day, following a telephone tip-off, they were recovered in a public lavatory on the edge of a small park, 200 metres away.

No one has ever been charged over the theft. The thief bypassed the gallery’s security system and removed the fragile watercolours from their frames to roll them up into a cardboard tube. This was later abandoned lent up against the closed lavatory building. Along with the recovered paintings was a note saying that “the intention was not to steal only to highlight the woeful security”.

The paintings had been left next to sodden leaves and litter on an extremely rainy day, so unsurprisingly the Van Gogh, ‘Fortifications of Paris with Horses’ watercolour suffered damage, with a 12cm tear to its right side, creasing and minor paint losses - now restored.

The gallery has since upgraded its security systems and now stands on par with that of national museums. The theft demonstrates a constant anxiety for regional museums who must balance budgeting for their collections against security measures.

All three items were immediately registered on the Art Loss Register database on the day of the theft to ensure they were not moved quickly through the market.

Artworks:

- Pablo Picasso, ‘Poverty’, 1903
- Paul Gauguin, ‘Tahitian Landscape’, 1891-93
- Vincent van Gogh, ‘The Fortifications of Paris with Houses’, 1878

24/04/2026

**WE ARE HIRING**

We are looking for an Associate to join our Recoveries team.

The successful applicant will join the team in reviewing artworks and cultural property as part of the due diligence process we carry out for clients. This involves researching issues relating to all types of claims such as theft, looting, colonialisation, and civil disputes. They will also be trained in the active pursuit of claims, assisting claimants seeking to recover their property. Such claimants can include insurers, private individuals, museums, businesses, and nation states.

Alongside this, our Associate will also help to manage the ALR’s database, assisting clients with the submission process and ensuring the quality of registrations.

Candidates must have or intend to gain the right to work in the UK. For the full job spec please see the link in our bio.

To apply to this role please submit your CV and a cover letter of no more than 300 words to [email protected] by 10:00am BST on Monday 11th May.

22/04/2026

*RECOVERED*
Portrait of Lt.-Col. Hon. Francis Wheler Hood
Henry Bone R.A. (Truro 1755-1834 London).

The Henry Bone painting was stolen during a burglary from a private residence in Hampshire in 2008. The theft bulletin – including several high value artworks and antiques worth more than £50,000 – was circulated by Hampshire Constabulary to UK law enforcement and so registered on the ALR database.

In April 2016 the painting was brought to the ALR office by a local dealer from Hatton Garden in order to be searched against the ALR database. The painting was still in its original frame, and it appeared that the thieves had only removed the plaque with the artist’s name.

The searcher was unable to prove he had good title to this work, while he had acquired the painting less than a year prior to his search for a low value. After he agreed to sign a letter of release, the ALR arranged for the painting to be offered for sale in an upcoming auction on behalf of the insurers of the original loss. It was sold successfully in October 2018 for the benefit of the insurers.

The enamel portrait of Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Francis Wheler Hood is after an original by Thomas Stewardson, now at Loders Hall in Dorset. A pencil drawing by Bone of the same subject and dimensions is also at the National Portrait Gallery, London (see: NPG D17676).

Lt.-Col. Hood, who is portrayed in this painting, belonged to the 3rd Foot Guards and died in the Napoleonic Wars at the Affair of Aire on 2nd March 1814.

21/04/2026

Last month, the ALR’s Charlotte Chambers Farah spoke on the ‘AI and Vetting’ panel at The Art Business Conference held at Maastricht.

Together with Laure Assumpçao (UGGC Avocats), Noah Charney() and moderator Rachel Pownall () they looked to the future of vetting and how AI can assist in this exercise from both authenticity and title perspectives.

The ALR has been working with TEFAF since 2000 and we are proud to collaborate with 15 international art fairs on vetting procedures on a range of different specialties. Through numerous vetting days a year, our team have amassed considerable expertise to navigate the often complex and nuanced issues which arise.

To obtain further information, please get in touch with [email protected].

- The Art Business Conference

16/04/2026

**STILL MISSING**
The Ghent Altarpiece panel ‘The Just Judges’, stolen April 1934, never recovered.

Since its creation by Jan van Eyck in 1430, the famous Ghent Altarpiece has endured burning, dismemberment, censorship, theft and N**i Looting. It is widely considered the most stolen artwork of all time, having been taken all in one, or in parts, six times.

While this monumental work survived many of these trials, one panel, ‘The Just Judges’, still remains missing. The unresolved heist occurred on the 10th of April 1935, when the double sided panel known as the Just Judges was stolen from the cathedral during the night. A random note soon arrived in the Bishop’s mail demanding one million Belgian francs. The thief left the backside of the panel - the gristle painting of Saint John the Baptist, at the checked-luggage department of Ghent train station as a sign of good faith. The Belgian government refused to pay the random.

Eleven ransom notes followed and on 25th November 1934, the self-proclaimed thief, Arsène Goedertier, revealed on his deathbed to his lawyer that he was the only one who knew where the panel was hidden. Upon his death carbon copies of the random notes and a 13th unsent letter were found - this held the clue ‘[it] rests in a place where neither I, nor anybody else can take it away without arousing the attention of the public’.

Despite exhaustive searches the panel has never been found. Today, the Ghent Altarpiece is displayed with the 11 original panels and a replacement copy of The Just Judges.

—

This item is registered on the Art Loss Register database. If you have any information on the whereabouts of this artwork please contact the ALR or reach out to Interpol directly.

08/04/2026

Recovered 10 years ago this month!

In April 2016 a stolen early 20th century marine chronometer was returned to the theft victim following its location by the Art Loss Register. This rare chronometer, by D. McGregor & Co. Ltd, Glasgow, Makers to the Admiralty, was once a vital tool for navigation at sea and will have travelled far and wide before becoming a fascinating collectible.

Sadly, the chronometer was stolen during a house burglary in Hertfordshire in May 2010. The theft was reported to the police and this valued antique was registered with the Art Loss Register. It is one of nearly 500 chronometers on the ALR database of lost and stolen art and collectibles.

Five years after the theft, the ALR spotted the chronometer being offered in the Christmas sale of a regional UK auction house. The auction house withdrew the item from sale and the police initiated a criminal investigation.

Further enquiries into the provenance revealed that the chronometer had changed hands at least 3 times in 2015 alone, making it impossible to trace back to the thief. Despite the impossibility of locating and prosecuting the thief, it was thankfully possible for the chronometer to be returned to its rightful owner.

Upon the return of the chronometer, the theft victim, a Master Mariner, said “I am delighted to be reunited with the chronometer thanks to the work of the Art Loss Register in locating it, and Hertfordshire Police in investigating the matter. They are an increasingly rare and valuable collectible as they are no longer made.”

Object details: An early 20th century two day Marine Chronometer, mounted on a locking gimbal in a brass bound wooden case, 7 x 7 x 8 ins.

02/04/2026

Happy Easter from the ALR 🐣

The Art Loss Register is closed for the Easter Bank Holiday from the evening of Thursday 2nd April and will reopen on Tuesday 7th April. Any searches ongoing or submitted during that time will be completed once the office reopens.

Wishing you a Happy Easter!

__

Image: Georgi Petrov, ‘Sunshine Bunnies’.
- Stolen from the Kherson Art Museum by representatives of the RF.
This painting is registered to the ALR database as part of the Cultural Heritage at Risk Database project. If you have any information on the whereabouts of this painting please contact us.

19/03/2026

Last day of 2026!

We have been collaborating with the fair since 2004. It is always a pleasure to work together and assist in the vetting process. A big thank you to TEFAF team!

18/03/2026

**STILL MISSING**
36 years ago today 13 works of art, estimated to be worth over half a billion dollars, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Often considered the biggest unsolved art heist in history, this infamous theft took place in the early hours of the 18th March 1990. Two men posing as policemen subdued security guards and spent an hour looting an eclectic mix works from the museum.

No arrests have ever been made and owing to the will of Gardner, who decreed that nothing in her collection should be moved, the empty frames for the paintings still remain hanging empty to this day.

List of stolen works:

1. Johannes Vermeer, The Concert, c.1663-66
2. Rembrandt, Self Portrait, ca.1934
3. Rembrandt, A Lady and Gentleman in Black, 1633
4. Edgar Degas, Program for an Artistic Soirée 1, 1884
5. Edgar Degas, Program for an Artistic Soirée 2, 1884
6. Edgar Degas, La Sortie de Passage, date unknown
7. Édouard Manet, Chez Tortoni, ca.1875
8. Rembrandt, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633
9. Edgar Degas, Three Mounted Jockeys, c.1885-88
10. Govaert Flinck, Landscape with Obelisk, 1638
11. French, A Bronze Eagle Finial, 1813-14
12. Edgar Degas, Cortège sur une Route aux Environs de Florence, ca.1857
13. An Ancient Chinese beaker (or Gu), Shang Dynasty

If you have any information on the whereabouts of of the these paintings please contact the Art Loss Register or reach out to the FBI directly.

05/03/2026

Happy World Book Day! 📚

To celebrate we thought we would share some of the stand out texts we have registered on the ALR database:

1. Ernest Quentin-Bauchart, The Book of Hours of Henry II. Stolen from a Swiss Museum between 2018-2025

2. Ian Fleming, For Your Eyes Only, First Edition, 1960. Stolen from a shop in London 2023.

3. 15th Century Book of Hours. Stolen from a French Museum in 2018.

4. Richard Adams and John Lawrence (Illustrator), Watership Down, published 1976. No.48 of 200 specially bound copies. Stolen from a book store in Brisbane in 2023.

5. Euripides, Tragoediae Septendecim, vol 1. Published by Aldus Manutis, 1503. Stolen in Italy in 2014.

6. Alfred Lord Tennyson, Poetical Works, published 1899.

The above works were registered to the ALR database in collaboration with the Interpol Database of Stolen Art or the International League of Antiquartian Booksellers (ILAB). If you have any information of the whereabouts of any of these books please contact the Art Loss Register or these sources directly.

24/02/2026

We were thrilled to attend The Art Business Conference at the Grand Palais in Paris last week!

Among the interesting talks occurring throughout the conference, the ALR’s James Ratcliffe participated in a panel on Recovery and Restitution in Today’s Art Market, moderated by Sibylle Aoudjhane.

Accompanied by Christie’s -Léa Bloch and UGGC Avocats - Laure Assumpçao the panellists looked at the future landscape of restitutions, covering issues from Second World War and colonial losses, to ownership disputes involving artists estates.

They explored the importance of demonstrating due diligence efforts, best practice in navigating ownership disputes as well as the challenges involved when the factors favouring restitution are moral or ethical rather than legal.

It was a fascinating discussion enlivened by the varied experience of the panellists and questions provided by the audience.

Thank you to all those who attended and to The Art Business Conference for hosting.

📸 Photo credits to

17/02/2026

Welcoming the Year of the Horse! 🐴🎇

Celebrating Lunar New Year 2026 by sharing a few of the horse themed artworks we have registered on the ALR database.

Images:

1. Landscape with A Brown Horse. Stolen from the Czech Republic in 1990. This item is also logged on the Interpol Database of Stolen Art

2. Maria Oksentiyivna Prymachenko, Winged Horse. The National Museum of Decorative Art of Ukraine, Kyiv. This painting is registered as part of the Cultural Heritage at Risk Database (CHARD) project.

3. Georges Rouault, Flight into Egypt. Stolen between 2004-2005 in the US. Interpol Database of Stolen Art.

4. Dervis A Lovával. Stolen in Budapest between 2001-2012. Interpol Database of Stolen Art.

5. Blue Horses. Stolen from a museum in Georgia in 1992. Interpol Database of Stolen Art.

6. Michel Bassompierre, Winter Shetland 3/8. Stolen in France between 2013-2024. Interpol Database of Stolen Art.

7. On Horseback. Linocut on paper. Kherson Regional Art Museum, Ukraine. CHARD.

8. Jean Jacques Bachelier, Horse and Wolf. Stolen from a museum in France in 2020. Interpol.

9. Bill Anderson, Olympic Event - Horses in Movement. Stolen in Houston in 2015.

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Website

http://www.artloss.com/

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