This crime, also known as the Transy Book Heist, has made its way to notoriety through the extensive media coverage, inclusion on the FBI’s list of most significant art crimes, and movies and TV shows being based on the events. 

We’ve talked about Benvenuto Cellini before here, remember the gold salt cellar? Well when researching that I realized that actually he’s an artist with a pretty interesting personal history of crime and just general weirdness that I thought was worth exploring.

A young artist with a promising career but he spent most of his life incarcerated, which is where he created some of his most iconic works. But what happened? And how did he get to be so well known after his death?

Everyone knows that during WWII a lot of looting happened, specifically of fine art pieces. A lot of that was done by the Nazis but some of it was done by the other side too. Today we’re going to talk about one of those cases and how that painting came home.

Today we have a pretty interesting case to talk about, robberies from an artist’s workshop, not of art pieces themselves but of the artist’s supplies, even though the completed works are way more valuable than just the raw materials used to construct them.

This heist has a little less elegance, finesse, and creativity than some others that we’ve talked about before but I’m pleased to say that I actually get to bring you a happy ending today!

I think it’s no breaking news that Andy Warhol’s work, especially his screen prints are iconic and instantly recognizable. That also can mean that people want to have them in their private collections.

I feel like I can hear you saying what kind of cruise ship has fine art on board and having never been on a cruise in my life I actually don’t know but this crime proves they do. The FBI even got involved to crack this one.

Once called the wunderkind in the art dealing and gallery business, Inigo Philbrick was sentenced to seven years in prison in March 2022. But why?

You might be asking yourself, what’s a reverse art heist and how could there have been more than one. Well my dear friends we’re going to learn about two pretty notable ones that happened recently in Germany and the very different ways they were dealt with.

You might think that someone working in a museum would be the most invested in protecting artwork and ensuring its safety. Think again.

I thought, since we talk so much on here about heists and missing artworks, so I figured it was time to talk about the people that work to recover these pieces safe and sound, mostly. Let’s delve into the interesting history of one such person who is sometimes called the Indiana Jones of the art world.

In 2019 there was a really shitty theft (sorry, I had to) at Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace. How did an item as big and as connected to the infrastructure of the house even get removed and how do we go about getting it back?

One of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, Madonna of the Yarnwinder or Buccleuch Madonna, depicts the Virgin Mary and Christ child looking at a tool used to wind yarn. This painting might not be his most famous but it was incredibly influential on later paintings of the Madonna and child. So when it was stolen, it caused quite the uproar. 

Today we’re talking about a story involving looting, false provenance, and ancient Egyptian artifacts. This whole story isn’t resolved yet so here’s what we know so far.

In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada there is a massive piece of public art called The Talus Dome (or sometimes called The Talus Balls). It’s made up of hundreds of silver balls stacked into a pile, so how did someone end up trapped inside?

How did a hippie who was drifting around the world aimlessly pull off what some call the biggest, most lucrative scam in the art world? And how did he finally get caught? Let’s explore it together and find out.

In the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena, Italy there is a masterpiece of a painting. Created between 1629-1630 by Italian artist Guercino, this is considered to be one of his best and most important works. So how did it disappear in 2014 with no signs of forced entry?

We’ve talked before about the trap that art thieves can sometimes fall into of having an incredibly valuable work in their possession but being unable to cash in on that value, well this story takes that to the extreme.

Now, I know that art isn’t necessarily the first thing you think about when you think of Taco Bell but please bear with me. There is a recently uncovered thriving black market for the artwork that you’d find in these fast food restaurants, let’s talk about it.