What to do in case of theft of your works of art?

You've been robbed? One or more important works from your collection were stolen. Besides your insurer, you must quickly register a formal complaint with your local police and report the theft to the bodies which may make it difficult the resale of your work on the market.

The following table shows you, in your place of residence, the main agencies involved.

Proceed in the order.

1. First, immediately report the theft to your local police and your insurance company;
2. Suggest, if appropriate, that the work be reported as stolen to higher organisms (such as the FBI or Interpol, as appropriate);
3. Register your own work with authorized organizations so that your work appears in their database.

Remember:

• The importance of properly documenting your collection. There are tools available to help you to do that.  See our page for this purpose.
• It is important, at the time of the acquisition, that you make sure you are provided by the sellers with all the documents necessary to guarantee inter alia, provenance and authenticity. The site Art - Collecting.com has published a list of items to obtain from your gallery at the time of the purchase.   See also the site of Masterworks Fine Arts on the same subject.
• You wish to find a stolen major work? Art Recovery International presents itself as  "a specialist practice providing due diligence, dispute resolution and art recovery services for the art market and cultural heritage sectors".

Items of interest:

• Charney, Noah. (2016) How Not to Buy Stolen, Forged Art Looted gold
• Favre, Nathalie. (2023) Les recours juridiques en cas de vol d'œuvres d'art France, Notaires de Paris
• Lyseight, Antoine. (2014) Stolen-Art Recovery Services: When Do Finder’s Fees Become Blackmail?
• Nitot, Jean-Loup. (2017) Vol ou perte d'un objet d'art, recours et procédures Gazette Drouot
• Paindiris, Jessica. (2018) To Catch a Thief: Art Security & Recovery Linkedin
• Tomijima, Mia. (2015) Competing or Complementing: Art Loss Databases Proliferate
• Unknown (2006). Protecting Your Treasures: Advice from Our Art Theft Expert FBI
• Unknown (SD) Que faire en cas de vol ou de disparition d'une œuvre?  France, Ministère de la culture
• Unknown. (2018) Victim of Art Theft? Do These 5 Things
• Unknown. (2018?) What to Do in the Tragic Case of Art Theft
• Wilbur Faulk and Laurie Sowd. (2001) Collections Theft Response Procedures Getty Museum

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