Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces

Join a leading authority on the history of art crime to explore the stories of artworks that have disappeared (and sometimes reappeared) across the centuries, from the ancient world to the 21st century.

Course Description

This course dives into the fascinating and sometimes tragic stories of lost art—masterpieces stolen, destroyed, faked, or vanished without explanation. From ancient treasures to modern masterpieces, you’ll uncover how war, theft, natural disasters, and even artists themselves have shaped what survives today. Each lecture explores a different chapter of this hidden history: legendary art heists, forgeries, plunder during war, accidental losses, and unsolved mysteries. Led by a leading expert on art crime, this course reveals how much of the world’s cultural heritage has been lost—and how some works are being rediscovered or digitally preserved for future generations.

Lecture List

01: Welcome to the Museum of Lost Art
An introduction to the “Museum of Lost Art” with the story of Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece and its many thefts.
31 min

02: Hall of Heists: Thieves and the Art They Steal
Examine history’s most famous art heists, from Goya’s Portrait of the Duke of Wellington to the theft of the Mona Lisa.
30 min

03: The Mob Wing: Organized Crime in Stolen Art
Explore mob connections to the stolen Caravaggio Nativity and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft.
29 min

04: Gallery of Fakes: Forgeries and Attribution
Discover how connoisseurship, provenance, and forensics shape the fight against art forgery.
30 min

05: The War Wing: Art Plundered through Conflict
From ancient Rome to World War II, see how conflict has led to massive art plunder and the challenges of repatriation.
30 min

06: The Hall of Vandals: Wreckers and Iconoclasts
Learn about iconoclasm, vandalism, and the destruction of religious and political symbols, from medieval acts to modern statues.
30 min

07: Gallery of Misfortune: Art Lost by Accident
Accidental destruction through fire, shipwrecks, or mishaps like the Fitzwilliam vase disaster.
29 min

08: Disaster Wing: Art against the Forces of Nature
Natural disasters—like Vesuvius, floods, and earthquakes—have both destroyed and preserved art across the ages.
32 min

09: No Bequest: Art Destroyed by Artists and Owners
Explore why artists like Michelangelo and Botticelli destroyed their own works, and what humanity lost as a result.
28 min

10: The Basement: Strange and Unsolved Cases
Unexplained disappearances and bizarre cases, such as Horatio Greenough’s The Rescue.
29 min

11: Not in the Vault: Fabled Art That Never Was
Investigate mythical and possibly fictional works, from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to Atlantis.
30 min

12: Lost and Found: Preserving and Restoring Art
Discover how digital technology is preserving replicas of lost masterpieces, such as Chauvet Cave paintings.
34 min