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

Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simon Houpt addresses the art world’s worst nightmare and threat, art theft. Art theft has been on the rise since the 1950’s when art began to sell for over hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thieves and their buyers are part of an intricate underground network that is overlooked by the general public. Houpt emphasizes the cultural and moral importance of dissuading the buying and selling of stolen art by providing a general history of art theft.



The book’s publication in 2006 occurred at a relevant time in the history of art theft, as evidenced by the recovery of Edvard Munch’s Madonna and The Scream by Norwegian police shortly thereafter. The two pieces, stolen on August 22, 2004, were one of the various examples used by Houpt to convey the dramatic history of art theft.

Edvard Munch's Madonna

Houpt structured his book to address the history of art theft from various angles. He examines the subject from the point of view of the collector, the thief, the investigator, museum security, and the law. By covering these perspectives Houpt provides the reader with a general overview of who is concerned with art theft and why while maintaining a narrative voice. Houpt notes that the individual art thief did not play a large role in stealing art until the 1950’s when art started to sell at auctions for noteworthy prices. Although Houpt’s voice is clearly biased, his view is generally accepted by professionals in the art world. Before high prices caught the attention of the average thief, stealing art was typically the result of conquering kings and the looting of armies. Houpt reserves one chapter, about a third of the book, for the topic and explains how kings took art from conquered lands as proof of the victor’s strength and superiority. His primary example of such activity is Hitler’s treatment of cultural property in World War II. The chapter, “Theft in the Time of War,” dedicated to looting can appear out of place despite its length because the rest of the book is focused on the effect of the common thief in the art world. The chapter appears to be a side story that grows out of proportion as compared to the primary plot. The remainder of the book is dedicated to art theft conducted by an individual or small band of thieves.

The book continues to explore the history of common art thieves through pertinent examples. One of his examples was Adam Worth, a successful art thief based in London. Worth created a rich persona that allowed him to move through London society at ease, investigating potential thefts. His story and those of others reflect the romanticism Houpt believes the general public associates with art theft. In balance to Worth’s villain, Houpt introduces his readers to Charley Hill, a Scotland Yard investigator who worked undercover to recover stolen art, including Goya’s Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate. Houpt uses Hill’s real life experience to show the public what art professionals already know, that art thieves are not romantic characters looking for expensive thrills, they are criminals and purveyors of corruption. These criminals take the world’s cultural heritage away from the public, the rightful heirs of these works.

Goya’s Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate.

Houpt uses these examples to demonstrate that art is a part of our cultural heritage that illistrates the great potential and achievements of mankind. Great works of art should be preserved to inspire all aspects of life. A sacred relic inspires the religious to believe. A landscape painting inspires the preservation and enjoyment of nature. It is important to protect these inspirations for future generations. This leads Houpt to address one of the many difficulties that arise in defending art from thieves. Because of the influence and importance of art, Houpt and other art professionals believe it should be easily accessible to the public. This may sound simple in theory, but it proves to be difficult in practice. Making art accessible, yet safe and secure raises many security issues. Methods of security used by museums to secure artwork include motion and heat sensors, video surveillance, trained security, alarms, and protective glass cases, however, these methods can be expensive and are not foolproof. In addition to the expense these methods bring to a museum, they also decrease the accessibility of the objects to the public. Houpt used an example of how glass was used to protect artwork, but the glass made it difficult for visitors to view brushstrokes. These difficulties are elegantly presented by Houpt, but he never provides a solution or best practices that can guide museums.

Beyond traditional security measures, Houpt places responsibility for object security on museum registrars. The public rarely sees the museum registrar and may not recognize their role. By placing a spotlight on the registrar, Houpt introduced the public to their role and reminds the registrar of the importantance of their job, especially in respect to security. Museum registrars can defend their museum from theft by maintaining a current and accurate catalogue of all objects in their collection. This will aid in realizing a theft, identifying the missing piece, and orchastraiting the recovery. Incomplete catalogues are an issue that many museums face. Another practice that helps registrars protect museum collections from art theft is to research and demans proper provenance for all incoming objects. The collection and general reputation of a museum will be tarnished if it acquires an artwork that lacks proper provenance. The public trust holds museums to a high moral standard; the purchasing of stolen art work damages this trust. In addition to lowering the public’s trust in the institution, purchasing objects without proper provenance increases the demand for stolen pieces. Beyond these methods to deter theft, registrars should reference stolen art databases when acquiring artwork.

In the end, Houpt listed a few ways that museum professionals can help to minimize and fight art theft, but he did not present any new methods or ideas. While the book does address an important topic that is often overlooked by the general public, it does not present information that is useful for the museum professional. Houpt’s casual style and vocabulary are more appropriate for the layperson. The book is eloquently written and uses well chosen examples to convey important ideas. Anyone looking for an introduction of the world of art theft would be satisfied with this book, however, it is not for the museum professional who is looking for guidance on how to handle situations in their job related to art theft.

Houpt, Simon. Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft. Sterling Publishing Co.: New York, NY. 2006.