Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft

Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft
by Simon Houpt

Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft
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Book Summary Information

Author: Simon Houpt
Foreword: Julian Radcliffe
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1897330448
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Black Walnut/Madison Press

Book Reviews of Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft

Book Review: Could have been much more: nice photos, but overall derivative
Summary: 2 Stars

The large color photos are nice, especially one before-after set showing how badly theft damaged Rubens "Tarquinius and Lucretia" (1610).

However, I'm reading "Rape of Europa" by Lynn Nicholas, pretty much at the same time, and the similarity of phrases is disappointing. For example, compare

page 56 of MoM (published in 2006)
"Hitler had ordered the destruction of all infrastructure in the occupied countries as German troops retreated so that the Allies would find only a devastated wasteland."

with

page 316 of RoE (published in 1995)

"...in August 1944 Hitler had ordered all military installations, utilities, communications, archives, monuments, food stores, and transportation facilities destroyed as the German armies retreated, so that only a wasteland would await the Allies."

Ignoring the redundancy of "devastated wasteland," the two phrasings seem quite similar to me and therefore "Museum of the Missing" seems a bit of a re-hash. Yet the "Rape of Europa" is not included in the Selected Bibliography of "Museum of the Missing".

I agree with other reviewers of "Rape of Europa" that photos would have filled a need to see the works Nicholas describes so intriguingly. However, I also see why -- her book was quite a feat, and adding photos would have likely doubled the timeline for publication.

While "Museum of the Missing" has nice photos and some charming anecdotes, I get the uneasy feeling that they've been told elsewhere, better.

Sorry to be unfriendly!

Summary of Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft

Offering a thrilling introduction to the underworld of stolen art, this investigation reveals the little-known story of modern art theft and shows how the legitimate art market, with its hyped auctions and landmark sales, has ignited criminal interest in these high-end pieces. The photographs, illustrations, and case studies give a fascinating and detailed behind-the-scenes account of the major thefts during the past hundred years—ranging from Edvard Munch?s The Scream and looting during World War II and the Iraq wars to a brazen and bizarre theft of a two-ton bronze Henry Moore sculpture. A gallery lists the estimated value of each stolen piece, painting an overview of the cultural, historical, and economic losses.

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