Five years Museum Security Network and Mailinglist

December 6, 1996 – December 6, 2001

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1997 Reports

• DECEMBER 13, 1997
  - controlling art theft at borders
  - Gleanings from the Art Newspaper - Buyer beware
  - NPCA Names Top Park Stories of 1997, Park Threats for 1998
  - Relatives of American artist protest religious poster (church stresses that the poster does not legitimize art vandalism as Newman's relatives have claimed. )
• DECEMBER 28, 1997
  Art Loans Gone Awry
• DECEMBER 27, 1997
  - Grave robbing is link to underground trade (Peasants in Peru search for treasures in tombs. Trafficking in artifacts is a big money)
  - Book thief could learn something from heist
  - Cyprus church hails recovery of stolen artefacts
  - 8 Arrested, Some Jewels Recovered in London Theft
  - Sam Rayburn House Museum Fire
  - Matisse (forgeries, fakes, artists/people involved in the crimes)
  - Heirs pursue 'lost museum' stolen by Nazis
• DECEMBER 17, 1997
  - Lawsuit threatens to spoil Getty museum opening
  - man ray forgeries exposed
  - Blumberg arrested (book thief)
  - IRS experts target artful dodgers
  - Restoring looted art
  (Next four all articles Times of London)
  - Smuggled art clampdown by Sotheby's
  - Art trade to see vast changes after Sotheby's inquiry
  - Expert Peter Watson, who made the allegations against Sotheby's, says he still has reservations
  - Italian 'smuggling' dossier sent to Scotland Yard
• December 7, 1997
  - Key Clues in Boston Art Theft Are Fakes
  - Mali presses for museum artifacts (May sue MFA to recover antiquities)
  - New deal offered in Gardner art theft (Inmates insist they can arrange return)
  - Stolen Old Masters raise cash for crime
• December 6, 1997
  Tape reveals brutal antiques robbery
  UNESCO to add Pompeii to special protected list
  World Heritage News
  QUESTIONABLE COLLECTION MFA pre-Columbian exhibit faces acquisition queries
  Notification of theft, Historical Society of PA
  Statement Of United States Attorney Donald K. Stern and FBI Special-Agent in Charge Barry Mawn Regarding the Gardner Museum Stolen Art
  UN warns of new Pompeii calamity
  Park's Initiative Meaningless Without Montana's Agreement (Yellowstone National Park)
  Guatemala moving to reclaim art
  US says chips aren't from Rembrandts
• December 2, 1997
  - Pompeii in peril again after years of official neglect (in 15 years 600 items were stolen)
  - Art stolen by Nazi troops
  - Stolen Serape
  - Sotheby's takes work tied to Nazis off block
  - PARK ADVOCACY GROUP CALLS TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM "FIRST STEP" IN SOLVING NATIONAL PARK CONGESTION
  - Wife of artwork tipster found dead
  - What's the real dirt on the `Sunflowers' paintings by van Gogh?
  - Family says art will be returned if it was stolen
  - Stricken basilica in Assisi to reopen
  - Thieves escape with Picasso from Swiss home
  - Fire Safe Heritage Listserv
• November 24, 1997
  Phony cleric arrested in thefts from churches
  stolen Art report: at http://www.museum-security.org/ there is a link to images of artworks stolen and additional information.
  Man slashes Newman painting in Amsterdam museum
  Auction houses battle with artists over copyright fees.
  Professor urges halt to painting restoration
  British experts join Van Gogh 'fake' inquiry
  Is there a web site that lists openings for positions in museum security?
  WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT A ROAD IN NEW MEXICO, EVEN IF YOU LIVE IN NEW JERSEY... (National Park)
• November 20, 1997
  Cartier jewels snatched in skylight raid on workshop
  Police stage a £5m stolen antiques road show
  Technology offers theft victims hope
  Quake-damaged Assisi frescoes may need repainting
  books by F. Scott Fitzgerald were reported missing and believed stolen from Special Collections and Archives at the James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
• November 18 and 19, 1997
  
• Hazy pasts cloud some local art
• Ministers urged to back campaign against art theft
• Welshman claims to have painted many prized indigenous works (Aboriginal art world is rocked by fresh scandal)
• Restored Windsor Castle rises from the ashes
• NPCA CALLS FOR BROADER PARK SERVICE ROLE IN REGULATING TOUR FLIGHTS (of National Park interest)
• (Philadelphia Inquirer) National Gallery exhibit may have had stolen works. Experts say Nazis looted the items displayed in 1990.
• Youngworth denies he has control of stolen Gardner art By Stephen Kurkjian, Globe Staff, 11/18/97
• Stolen swords draw attention of the FBI
• Entertainer Seeks Paintings Seized at Drug Deal Courts: Wayne Newton had testified at bankruptcy proceeding that he bought the artworks for a friend. Now he says some of the paintings, which another man tried to trade for cocaine, are really his.
• Envoys accused over antiquities: AN EMINENT archaeologist has accused diplomats of using diplomatic bags to smuggle illegally excavated antiquities from their countries of origin, (Dalya Alberge writes).
• Family questioned over lost Old Masters By Bruce Johnston in Rome FLORENCE police were yesterday investigating the disappearance of 100 Old Master paintings from a private collection believed subsequently to have been taken abroad in contravention of strict export laws.
• FEATURE
• Cambodia's heritage another casualty of war 12:12 a.m. Nov 19, 1997 Eastern By Chris McCall

• November 17,1997
  In Italy, precious ruins are being loved to death
  Sweden gives aboriginal skull back to Australia
  New wave of thieving strikes after Cambodian coup
  news flash (library thief Gilbert Bland)
  ON MUSEUMS / An Explosive Scene, a Lock On the Crowds
• November 15, 1997
  Dealer sentenced; hope lives for art deal
  In Italy, History Depletes Itself
  Sotheby's shares drop by 6% after art auction 'flop'
  Renoir's 'Bather' fetches $20.9 million
  NPCA URGES YELLOWSTONE TO POSTPONE ROAD CLOSINGS
  Why Does New York City Still Illegally Arrest, Harass and Persecute Street Artists? The Answer Is B.I.D.s (Business Improvement Districts)
  A remarkable recovery!
• November 14, 1997
  Youngworth wins round in court / Figure in arts talks won't face key charge
  Sotheby's black night follows rival's day of triumph
  Hermitage's Elusive Entrance Frustrates American Tourist
  
• November 10-13,1997
  Differences stall art negotiations; Authorities at odds with duo on return of Gardner works
  NPCA TO SCRUTINIZE GETTYSBURG MUSEUM PROPOSAL IN EFFORT TO PROTECT PARK INTEGRITY
  Re: Art Fraud? - Lessons from the Denney Collection
  Cincinnati drops charge that Yoko Ono art was vandalized
  Thieves steal Cambodia's ancient treasures of Angkor
  EU rules threaten London art market
  American Civil War relics stolen in Philadelphia
  Prince's jewels stolen by Italian cat burglar ( including a pair of 18-carat yellow gold Faberge cufflinks once owned by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia)
  Art Theft, WWII and Museum Ethics
  Many antiques stolen from dealers found at one dealer's home (Shops and auction houses have been hit. Chris G. Ritter is charged with receiving stolen property).
  robbery victims identify Bensalem man as assailant (Two said Bruce C. Irwing of Bensalem was part of a trio that stole antiques from them).
• November 9, 1997
  THE ART WORLD'S SPOILS OF WAR
  Murky histories cloud some local art. By Maureen Goggin and Walter V. Robinson, Globe Staff (another proof of The Boston Globe's high standard investigative journalism!)
• November 8, 1997
  RE: Stolen Art Database
  Re: (Fwd) UCLA computer theft
  Man charged with vandalizing Ono painting says she's his hero
  Fine-art dealer admits duping Nicholson and other celebrities
• NOVEMBER 1 -7, 1997
  * Burrell's ban on lending artworks is lifted by peers
  * House Votes to Protect Headwaters, Yellowstone (National Park)
  * NIMRUD RELIEFS FOR SALE ( stream of reliefs looted from Assyrian sites in Iraq continues to flow westward)
  * £5m painting found on church wall
  * Shroud 'is genuine' (forgery)
  * The Scandal of the Century; The Mansoor Amarna Exposé
  * B'nai B'rith Calls on National Gallery of Art to Explain Buhrle Exhibit ( exhibit "The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Buhrle" featured art stolen from Jewish collectors, and the collector was a known Nazi arms dealer)
  * Youngworth cites financial problems (Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum)
  * Munich raid strikes out Cyprus art smuggling ring
  * Blaze damages castle of Dukes of Savoy in France
  * Mariotto di Nardo (1394-1424) painting stolen from Dutch museum
  * Fall River man charged in cemetery gate theft
  * Defacer of Yoko Ono paintings says he was invited
  * Rembrandt self-portrait found in Paris bedroom
  * Missing $50 Million Rembrandt at Focus of Law Suit
  * Re: (Fwd) Theft from historic house
  * query: 'fraudulently" selling and trading $750,000.00 worth of the Brooklyn Museum's primitive art in the 70's
  * £500,000 atlas by Ptolemy is stolen By Susannah Herbert in Paris
  * Israel Museum exhibit stirs furor
  * stolen item database?
  * RE:stolen item database?
  * Brooklyn Museum and 1978-Reply
  * Trend Technology Systems B.V.
  
• October 27 - 31, 1997
  - Uproar in Umbria over plans for ancient Rome theme park
  - Skelton Paintings Are Target of Second Heist
  - Duerer, Drawing a Hot Bath (Recovered Artwork Called `a Miracle')
  - Fresh tremors dash Assisi church hopes
  - Brigham Young University Says No to Rodin Nudes
  - Theft of Biological/Palaeontological Specimens
  - Historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to be Moved (National Park)
  - Joan of Arc birthplace 'desecrated' with EU aid
  - Robbery at CIMEC (Romanian Information Centre for Culture and Heritage)
  - Re: Robbery at CIMEC
  - Defunct S.F. Gallery Under Probe (Ex-owners ripped off artists, police suspect)
  - disc jockey faces possible vandalism charges for allegedly inciting young people to vandalize a sculpture
  
• October 24 - 26, 1997
  - New concern over damage to frescoes
  - Archaeologists strike
  - PARK ADVOCACY GROUP MOVES TO BLOCK PERMIT FOR HOMESTEAD AIR FORCE BASE REDEVELOPMENT District's Decision Does Not Recognize Magnitude of
  Impacts
  - Umbria, home of the arts, pleads for aid
  - Getty scoops British art treasure (the power of money...)
  - Art Thieves Leave Many Frowns Behind( Gallery owner is waiting for police action after lithograph by Red Skelton is stolen)
  - Newspaper says Van Gogh Sunflowers'' may be fake
  - Looted Ethiopia's Axum Obelisk Will Return Home From Rome in April,1998
  - Experts Weigh Sending David Abroad
  
• OCTOBER 19 - 23, 1997
  - World Heritage Newsletter (TYPHOON DAMAGE TO HUE IMPERIAL CITY, VIETNAM)
  - Turning heads: a new angle on 'ruined' picture (accusation that restorers have ruined its design)
  - stolen Cypriot church art treasures have been discovered by German police (4 reports by Cyprus News Agency, dated October 19 and 15)
  - Alert: Another Book Crook
  - recovery of valuable collection of stolen 18th century paintings
  - Matisse painting, missing for 57 years, may be at museum
  - Suspect admits a try to sell stolen art (Rembrandt, Durer works were included)
  - Twice-Stolen Art Takes A Twisted Trail to N.Y. Azerbaijani Lawyer Held After High-Speed Chase
  - Thieves steal cemetery's historic gates
  - Stolen Byzantine art recovered in Munich
  - Valuable artifacts fall foul of ivory ban
  - US police turn theft inquiry into a fine art
  - NEW ROAD BUILDING ASSAULT ON NATIONAL PARKS: Broad Coalition Denounces Road Through Petroglyph Monument
  - Art Stolen by Nazi Troops Identified in Seattle Museum
  - THE HEIST AND THE HUNT (SUPPOSEDLY AUTHENTIC PHOTOS OF STOLEN ART TREASURES SHOWED UP LAST WEEK ON PAGE ONE AND TV SCREENS)
  - The art underground (odyssey of several Rembrandt and Durer drawings)
  - 4 cemetery gates found in Brewster
• October 12 - 18, 1997
  - Gallery attack by Sydney man (51), Serrano Photo
  - Serrano show axed (two youths destroyed Piss Christ with a hammer; National Gallery of Victoria last night cancelled its controversial exhibition by Andres Serrano)
  - Historical society halts bid to sell art, artifacts
  - Child killer painting back on display in Britain (restorers repaired damage caused by angry viewers)
  - Ellis Island: Armenian photos too gory for exhibit (Armenian-American groups accuse the National Park Service of censorship)
  - question about provenance of 16th century decorated helmet
  - 60% of Art Collectors Would Buy More Art If It Were Accompanied By An Irrevocable Authenticity Guarantee (OmniGuard International Art Registry establishes clear provenance, or ownership record, for pieces covered in the program, potentially stabilizing and enhancing the future value of a piece and aiding in its recovery, if ever stolen)
  EDITORIALS AND ADDITIONAL REPORTS ABOUT DESTRUCTION SERRANO PICTURE:
  - Andres Serrano exhibition had to close
  - Philosophy of the hammer (Andres Serrano accuses the National Gallery of Victoria of being "spineless")
  - Art that turns heads may take heads (Andres Serrano yesterday condemned Dr Timothy Potts, his gallery and his reputation to eternal damnation)
  - Are contemporary artists asking for it? (COSMO LANDESMAN argues that artists should not be surprised by violent reactions to their work)
  - Vandals splotched paint on statues of Christopher Columbus in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
  - Medieval clock tower near Assisi brought down by latest tremor
  - Basques believed to target Guggenheim Museum in Spain
  - Police arrest three in connection with Guggenheim attack
  - Two more arrested after Spain's Guggenheim attack
  - Pissant art (Editorial about Serrano affair)
  - Leonardo bike 'was 1960s doodle'
  - Rome frescoes damaged as quakes spread
  - Alleged Attack on Guggenheim Foiled (The Basque separatists who planned to attack the new Guggenheim Museum during its opening this weekend were prepared to blow up 12 grenades during ceremonies attended by the king, authorities said Wednesday.)
  - Stolen Rembrandt May Be Returned
  - Russia upper house appeals to court on ``booty'' art
  - Art historians urge caution on results of paint examination
  - Rembrandt return may be closer (Paint chip analysis encourages
  officials)
  - Death Mars Museum Opening
  - Rembrandt painting is now behind bulletproof glass
  - Country house 'copy' is Velazquez masterpiece, says Spanish expert
  - Statue stolen as art attacks spread to Sydney
  - ART ATTACK (Drawing the moral line)
  - Allegedly fake JFK papers subject of federal probe
  - Spain bolsters security for museum opening
  - Assisi basilica restoration to be finished by 2000
  
• October 6 - 11, 1997
  -THE HEIST AND THE HUNT. (Isabella Stewart Gardner)
  - Restorers' art saves a Rembrandt ( Rembrandt's Danae back on public
  display after being vandalized in 1985.)
  - Fresh quakes hit Italy, more damage to St. Francis basilica
  - Re: 5,000 volume Everglades National Park library in poor
  condition. (storage facilities at Gettysburg National Military Park
  are bad)
  - Gov't again calls for return of Parthenon marbles
  - Gallery vows to expose fake Van Gogh art
  - The House voted today to seriously weaken the Antiquities Act of
  1906 (the law that originally protected such national treasures as
  Denali, Acadia, and the Grand Canyon National Parks)
  - Alleged partner indicted in U.S. for Baku art theft (trying to sell
  $10 million worth of stolen drawings that were part of a German
  collection)
  - South Africa seeks its share of Clive's treasure trove
  - Society to retain artifacts, for now (The Historical Society of Pa.
  had sought to unload thousands of objects. The proposal met with
  flak).
  - Two nabbed with Peruvian antiquity
  - Antiquities smugglers arrested, artifacts confiscated
  - Klimt painting sells for £14.5 million ( the most expensive picture
  sold in the world this year)
  - Vandalism
  - Disaster preparedness and management priorities
  - Assisi battles to save the frescoes
  - Unearthed tombs tell tale of a rich civilization (A mixture of good
  and bad news)
  - FBI agents strike gold in Philadelphia. Acting undercover, they
  were to buy a Peruvian artifact. (See also yesterday's report)
  - RE: Disaster preparedness and management priorities
• October 4 - 5, 1997
  - Efforts to verify Gardner photos fail / Evidence on stolen art is
  called inconclusive
  - park's historical legacy is endangered (Everglades National Park)
  - Thieves plunder treasure from the ruins of Assisi's glory. (Chorus
  of condemnation grows as gross inefficiency, neglect and theft take
  their toll on precious remnants of Italy's vulnerable artistic
  heritage)
  - CHRONOLOGY OF THE UMBRIAN DISASTER
  - Fears of 'Big One' fuelled by sheer strength and number of tremors
  - Published photos may show stolen Rembrandts (the Gardner secretly met
  with Youngworth in New York last month and gave him $10,000 to
  facilitate the return of the stolen paintings)
  - TEXFAKE AN ACCOUNT OF THE THEFT AND FORGERY OF
  EARLY TEXAS PRINTED DOCUMENTS
  - query: byzantine-art, stolen or looted in northern Cyprus during and
  after the war.
  - Man who stole to buy clocks faces prison time
  
  ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER HEIST:
  - Published Photos May Show Rembrandts Museum Pursues Stolen Art
  - Agents said to get stolen-art photos
  
  - Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil Sold for $7.6 Million
  - Neolithic gold jewelry to go on display
  - National's £40m Rubens could be fake
  - MEASURES TO RESTORE ITALY'S TREASURES
• October 1 - 3, 1997
  - $100,000 Sculpture Stolen From Gallery
  - Damaged Lincoln Statue Returned To Detroit Public Library
  - Workers drop dinosaur skeleton
  - Neolithic gold treasures seized in Greece (additional report: £2m
  'sting' recovers ancient jewellery in Greece)
  - Vandals prey on dinosaur treasure
  - Struggle to save Italy's artistic treasures (rescuers further damaged frescoes by climbing on to the mounds of rubble to re-enact their discovery of the four victims elsewhere for the benefit of the television cameras!)
  - controversial portrait of Moors murderer Myra Hindley
  (Protesters defaced the portrait with ink and eggs within hours of
  it being exhibited)
  - vandalism ( attacks on paintings or other works of art on display
  with a liquid such as acid, alkali or paint remover.)
  - re: vandalism
  - Verdict, tale of photos twist Gardner case (renegade Randolph
  antiques dealer who says he has access to art stolen from the
  Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - is headed back to prison)
  - Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics (stealing books)
  - Earthquake Shakes Italy Again (badly weakened medieval bell tower in
  Nocera Umbra collapsed in the new quake).
  - Dinosaur bones on block at Sotheby's (Federal agents, museum curators,
  paleontologists and Indian tribal representatives are flocking to
  Sotheby's auction house in New York)
• September 29 - 30, 1997
  - Violent antiques thief leafed through the reference work to select
  judges and peers and planned each raid in great detaiL
  - Treasures of 13th and 14th century left cracked and crumbling after
  earthquakes rock central Italy (More on Assissi earthquake)
  - Italy quake latest chapter in ``Curse of Cimabue''
  - St. Francis' Legacy
  - New tremors halt friars' battle to save Assisi art
  - Frescos damaged beyond repair by earthquake (art historian, Federico Zeri, has blamed poor and "idiotic" restoration work in the 1950s and 1960s)
  - Damage at Assisi blamed on work in 1960s
  - Thieves rip altar from Hardy church
  - Vandalism and theft (in churches) cost insurer £5 million a year
  - Looters pillage church art in Assisi
  - Re: Library vandalism
  - the National Monument Fairness Act severely weakens th e Antiquities
  Act of 1906 (National Parks)
• September 23 - 27, 1997
  - missing artwork looted during WW II
  - UN plea to save Afghan art from war and plunder
  - Criminal assists businessman in art recovery
  - Lawmakers weigh restoring southwest's Glen Caynon (National Park)
  - Unlikely suspect/Connor crony was no art expert (Isabella Stewart
  Gardner Museum)
  - Sideshow trial opens as Gardner case stalls (Isabella Stewart
  Gardner)
  - "Treasure" Unearthed in Niagara Falls! (weird story about 1922
  soccer trophy)
  - Stolen Goods (the "lost" Quedlinburg treasures, medieval manuscripts
  and art works)
  - RE: Stolen Goods (the "lost" Quedlinburg treasures, medieval manuscripts
  and art works)
  - Stolen Goods
  - Re: Stolen Books
  - Library vandalism
  - Soccer Trophy is Going Home!
  - Re: Stolen Goods
  - Earthquakes in Italy kill at least 10, Dozens pulled from debris;
  works of art damaged
  
• September 15 - 22, 1997
  - Hearing set for antiques dealer
  - World recognition raises hopes for ruined monastery
  - Blind man 'has key to Tsar's secret library' (800 missing manuscripts
  and books)
  - Don't reward criminals for returning stolen art
  - Faker of the FO saves old masters for the nation (A strange report)
  - Stolen Van Gogh recovered in Belgium (good news, but still: how
  good this happen.....)
  - Re: Dealing with Art Thieves (A "cop's" view on Isabella Stewart
  Gardner negotiations)
  
• September 6 - 13, 1997
  - Specialists at odds over dealing for art
  - Restitution for looted art is discussed
  - B'nai B'rith unit to seek Jewish art
  - Project Seeks to Track Works Seized by Nazis
  - Museum attorney meets with US prosecutor
  - Search will widen for art looted by Nazis
  - Art collector sent to prison for theft
  - Art and terrorism
  - 100 Endangered Cultural Sites Named
  - Man charged in New York with $10 million art theft
  - Clinton Portrait Stolen in Arkansas
  - Clinton Portrait Returned to Police
  - Peru fire threatens Inca citadel Machu Picchu
  - Lost City of Incas closed to tourists after brush fire
  - Youngworth is being harassed, lawyer says (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
  - Peru fire rages out of control around Inca citadel
  - Church thieves should have hands cut off, says rector
  - Jewish Group To Form Unit On Looted Art
  - Bremen's stolen Rembrandt and Dürer turn up in US
  - 2 men in Gardner deal set to meet/Time to deliver, observers say
  - Artist's Heirs Sue Smithsonian, Ownership of Paintings by William Johnson Challenged
  - Russia Returns Looted Wartime Booty
  - US attorney demands proof on stolen art (Isabella Stewart Gardner)
  - Man, 60, charged in effort to sell stolen artwork
  - Release, reward would be an insult, victim's kin says (Isabella Stewart Gardner)
  - Earlier tipster makes his pitch on stolen art (Isabella Stewart Gardner)
  - UNESCO sounds alarm over Venezuela heritage site (Canaima National Park)
• September 4 - 5, 1997
  - Museum Thefts (the Art Newspaper)
  - Book theft at Univ. of Minnesota
  - Rugby vandals damage statue
  - Thieves steal Antwerp museum's only Van Gogh (repost with
  additional remarks)
  - Private spat may be driving Gardner talks
  - Gardner confirms hiring attorney for discussions (Antiques dealer
  tells 'Nightline' of stolen art)
  - Special Tony award stolen from James Thurber's birthplace
  - Re: New Dickinson Poem purchased for $24,150 Proved Fake
• September 2, 1997
  - Thieves bargain for freedom in major US art theft (Isabella Stewart
  Gardner Museum)
  - Museum canvasses latest tip on stolen art (Isabella Stewart
  Gardner Museum)
  - Gardner officials encouraged by reporter's recall of painting (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
  - Two `art lovers' offer FBI a deal for return of stolen masterpieces (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
  - Manassas, Late Bids to Keep Artifacts, Rohr's Museum to Put History
  on Auction Block
  - Herzog agrees to return Amber Room furniture
• August 31, 1997
  - Risks of lending to museums - are there any?
  - Antique dealer now demands Connor release (Isabella Stewart Gardner
  Museum)
  - Request (Gardner Museum case)
  - Meeting on art heist expected (Gardner Museum case)
  - New Dickinson Poem purchased for $24,150 Proved Fake
• August 27, 1997
  - Once-magnificent library is tattered and worn
  - Searching for stolen art/antiquities
  - Why the auction is the enemy of art
  - Wood expert casts doubt on dating of masterpiece
  - FBI Has Lead in 1990 Art Heist (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
  
• August 23, 1997
  - Fountain vandal to sue over fall
  - US reportedly wants to talk to Connor on Gardner theft
  - Historical Society of Pennsylvania (protest against selling and dispersing the Society's historic arts and artifacts collection)
  - Romans seek crackdown after vandals break statue
  - Provinces Help Tibet Protect Relics
  - The Real Enemy of the Arts
• August 21, 1997
  - Jury indicts historical-documents dealer again
  - Tourist in icy plunge to save Rome fountain
  - Bernini fountain damaged by bathers (same story as above: different reporter, different paper): damage to the fountain comes after a series of assaults on priceless Italian sculptures and works of art of world importance.
• August 19, 1997
  - sentenced only to 15 months' of jail time
  - Archive Disaster in Poland
  - Fire Damages Hubert Humphrey Museum
  - Who's Who burglary gang knew what's what
• August 18, 1997
  - Auction house tip puts police on trail of £1m art gang
  - Broker Charged with Art Theft (No plea entered in art fraud case)
  - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum renews reward offer for stolen artwork
• August 15, 1997
  - Stolen Narwhal Tusk
  - Banned Apartheid Painting Returned
  - Police question suspect in Picasso theft
  - Man gets 15 months in stolen art sting
• August 12, 1997
  - Conflicting warnings on old library murals
  - Museums Seek to Protect Art Images on Internet
  - Dealer says he's unfairly targeted
  - Pages in the Annals of Art Theft. Officials Applaud Return Of Medieval Folios
  - High Society Art Broker Accused of Scam
• August 7, 1997
  - damage to Polish libraries
  - Museum's prize painting 'fake'
  - Debate Regarding Authenticity of Ancient Egyptian Art
• August 5, 1997
  - Amber Room still haunts
  - most of the stolen art ends up being sold at Japanese auctions??
  - Mysterious Museum
• August 2, 1997
  - Misfortune surrounds alleged van Gogh painting set for auction
  - Professional art thieves steal Smuts portrait from club
  - Stolen pre-Civil War era sword returned to Westbrook shop
• August 1, 1997
  - Floods in Poland destroy libraries
  - THE ART WORLD'S SPOILS OF WAR
• July 31, 1997
  - Italy Cops Recover $3M in Art
  - John Lennon etchings stolen from Amsterdam Gallery
• July 30, 1997
  Natural formations accessible, vulnerable (Even landmarks as sacred as the Eye of the Needle aren't safe from mindless vandals; tourists break off pieces of cave formations for souvenirs)
• July 28, 1997
  - Latest news on the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica
  - Art registry did not inform Met of claim
  - Re: again: museum fire caused by construction work
  - Re: again: museum fire caused by construction work
  - Crime in museums & galleries
  - Dutch customs find stolen atlases
  - Greek students in Britain begin campaign for Parthenon Marbles' return
  - City history society seeks to sell its art
  - German Cops Seize Alleged Stolen Art
• July 25, 1997
  - Stolen-art claims shake N.Y. museum
  - Re: again: museum fire caused by construction work
  - China Joins Pact on Stolen Relics
  - Texas family wants Romanov jewels held for factory
• july 24, 1997
  - Paris museum blaze causes less damage than feared
  - U.S. to return stolen manuscripts
• July 23, 1997
  French firefighters douse Paris museum blaze
  Fire broke out in an area of the roof that was being renovated!!
  AGAIN: remember the Hofburg in Vienna, Windsor Castle, and the Royal Academy (May 4, 1997). All these fires were caused by construction work. This is the third museum fire within three months: Royal Academy (May), Tate Gallery (June).....
• July 22, 1997
  - Non-heritage crime in museums
  - Dead Sea Scrolls Still Disputed
  - aboriginal art australia
  - $33m worth of artifacts bound for trafficking recovered in Iran
• July 20, 1997
  - stolen painting
  - Sotheby's cuts antiquity sales over 'smuggling' (Sotheby's Moving Sales to New York)
  - Shrine threatened by flooding
  - Bulldozers threaten Matisse villa
• July 18, 1997
  - Russian minister criticises Bonn on art booty
  - War criminal Tadic's art pleases London diners
  - Albania violence threatens treasured ancient city
  - 'Betrayed' antiques expert awarded £200,000
  - Britain freezes £16m art sale to America (The Getty Museum is angry over an export delay on a Poussin from Sudeley Castle)
  - The Unfinished History of the Aksum Obelisk Return
• July 16, 1997
  - Move to weed out 'rogue' security firms
  - British Sculptor Charged With Stealing Body Parts
• July 14, 1997
  - France returns artwork looted by Nazis to owner
  (two articles: Reuter and Boston Globe
  - Rain seriously destroys major naive art collection (our source: Art Daily at: http://www.artdaily.com/)
  - Investigation into possible Cincinnati school art fraud continues
  - VALLEY ART THEFTS CONFORM TO TREND; L.A. BECOMING TARGET FOR HEISTS
• July 12, 1997
  - The Lost Museum, the Nazi conspiracy to steal the world's greatest works of art.
  - Family in fight for £300m 'war loot'
  - House Rejects Block Grant Funding For Arts
  - Italy Contests University Donation
• July 11, 1997
  Grand jury begins hearing art case
• July 10, 1997
  - stealing Absolute Vodka ads from magazines
  - Historic house saved from partial demolition
  - Fire hits Paris law courts near historic church (Sainte Chapelle)
• July 9, 1997
  - Recovering stolen art takes decades of patience
  - Japanese owner of 'Sunflowers' says it's no fake
  - Forgotten sculpture rescued
• July 5, 1997
  - Russia parliament angry over Yeltsin art rejection
  - United States makes formal commitment with Peru protecting their
  cultural artifacts
  - Burglar was expert 'worthy of part on Antiques Roadshow'
  - Security camera can find a face in crowds
  - Moscow digs for Ivan's (the Terrible) secret library
  - More on fake Van Gogh paintings: Review alleges dozens of Van Goghs are fake
  - Auschwitz Artist Fights Museum For Her Portraits
• July 4, 1977
  - mass-tourism = serious threat to the heritage
  - Colombia recovers church art worth $1.5 million
  - Swiss Send Art to U.S. in Protest
  - China sells crumbling museum
  - Doubts cast on 100 Van Goghs
• July 3, 1997
  - $400,000 IN FINE ART WAS STOLEN
  - The council that kept its head after the roof fell in
  - Archaeologist swims river to escape lynching
  - issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece
• July 2, 1997
  - Petition to save a library in peril
  - Archaeologist Recalls Jungle Clash
  - Art gift threatened by gallery plan to charge
• July 1, 1997
  -HK says return to China puts noose on smugglers
  -British Art Market Fears Collapse Under EU Tax Burden
  -Experts Demand Hunt For Owners Of Nazi-Looted Art
  -Britain says will not return marbles to Greece
  -Art dealer to stars arrested
  -Firing of Berlin's Jewish Museum director unleashes fury
  -Art thieves plague Cambodian religious structure
• Authorities investigating sale of Cincinnati schools' paintings July 1, 1997
• US art dealer charged with defrauding celebrities July 1, 1997
• Egypt police nab smugglers of rare antiquities june 30, 1997
• Two charged, but masterpiece still missing June 30, 1997
• Historic group says don't save arts center June 28, 1997
• Bits of a czarist treasure mysteriously resurface June 25, 1997
• Picassos offered on disbanded www site June 24, 1997
• Illegal cyber-space art-trafficking ring broken up June 24, 1997
• Museum thieves steal Nigeria's heritage June 24, 1997
• Mongolia court says museum belongs to ex-communist June 20, 1997
• Twice-stolen Picasso painting recovered again June 20, 1997
• Poland retrieves cultural treasure June 19, 1997
• Stolen Klee Returned to Phillips June 19, 1997
• Deep Cuts Proposed For Arts June 18, 1997
• Nazis and Their Allies in Art Theft June 18, 1997
• Library in Peril June 17, 1997
• 'Vibration and dust from the building works could cause substantial damage to artworks' June 17, 1997
• Cemetery will be cited as one of the nation's 11 most endangered historic places June 17, 1997
• Exodus of Chinese art from Hong Kong June 17, 1997
• Children suing stepmother to seize $800,000 painting June 16, 1997
• U.S. Customs Returns Stolen Manuscripts to the Vatican June 16, 1997
• Trying to Save the Neglected Side of Ellis Island June 16, 1997
• Britain's Tate Gallery shut by fire June 14, 1997
• Perry widow puts Wimbledon museum trophies up for sale June 13, 1997
• Collection of Chinese art is being mysteriously broken up june 13, 1997
• Bremerton to Lose USS Missouri as a museum June 13, 1997
• Activists seek to save 19th-century houses June 13, 1997
• Veterans battle for WAC Museum on history of women's role in Army June 13, 1997
• Opponents claim £10.9m stone box will damage integrity of Fitzwill iam's classical facade June 13, 1997
• Two Missing Books: COTTA, 1623. CAIUS, 1544 June 12, 1997
• Costume drama after flood June 12, 1997
• U.S. shuns de Young as bad risk June 12, 1997
• Art dealer says sale cost him £200,000 June 12, 1997
• Antiques expert lied to police June 12, 1997
• Fossil prices rise as collectors dig natural history June 12, 1997
• Greece renews bid to retrieve Parthenon marbles June 11, 1997
• Gypsies to join suit against Swiss over Nazi loot June 10, 1997
• selling off the family silver June 10, 1997
• Moscow's Museum Badly Underfunded June 10, 1997
• New book by scientist proves Shroud of Turin is a painting June 10, 1997
• Belgium Art Thefts June 10, 1997
• Red faces as thieves raid Ferrari rally june 9, 1997
• fire in an 11th-century Hindu temple June 8, 1997
• Wroclaw University robbed of valuable 18th-century paintings June 7, 1997
• HK university allows display of democracy sculptur June 6, 1997
• Italian Vandals Strike At Florence's Neptune Again June 6, 1997
• FBI: Paintings Found in Cleveland June 6, 1997
• Australia Backs Greece on Marbles June 6, 1997
• Amber Room, Schleimann's Treasure (gold from Troy) June 5, 1997 (plus several other stories about the Amber Room.
• Man duped scores of art buyers June 5, 1997
• BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLES ABOUT LOOTED ART June 5, 1997
• Woman accused of deception turns tables on Sotheby's June 5, 1997
• Top art dealers investigated for possible antitrust violations June 4, 1997
• Police seize £1m pirate tape of latest Spielberg June 4, 1997
• American curator pulls out of Ashmolean job June 4, 1997
• A pornographer's view: new censorship act is too vague for comfort June 4, 1997
• Music industry fights cyber piracy June 4, 1997
• Panel Clears Way for Razing of Former Van de Kamp's Bakery June 4, 1997
• N.Y. Art Dealers Under Investigation, Justice Dept. Reportedly Checking for Possible Price Collusion June 4, 1997
• Street Art Wars June 4, 1997
• A furious dispute has erupted over an addition to a medieval castle in Normandy June 4, 1997
• Tapestry of carpet fraud begins to unravel June 4, 1997
• Street Artist Federal ruling stands; U.S. Supreme Court rejects Giuliani appeal June 3, 1997
• Welcome to SoHo: Artist Persecution Capital of the World June 3, 1997
• Not all historic buildings can be saved, Bits of history return as valuable objects June 3, 1997
• TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR AFRICA'S ANCIENT ROCK-ART MASTERPIECES, THREATENED BY NATURE AND MAN June 3, 1997
• Grand Forks Arts Organizations: Update On Status And Needs June 3, 1997
• U.S. Officials Probe Art Dealers, Auctions June 3, 1997
• China improves relic protection June 2, 1997
• Culture a new weapon in fight to reclaim mean streets of Naples June 2, 1997
• Greece Still Going for All the Marbles June 2, 1997
• Artifact thieves take Guatemala church's archangel June 2, 1997
• Investigations reveal Holland returned 10 percent of war art May 31, 1997
• Bird paintings stolen May 30, 1997
• Spain confiscated 22 Goering paintings May 30, 1997
• Painting stolen by Russian troops to be returned to Italy May 29, 1997
• Argentina seeks truth on Nazis and gold May 29, 1997
• 40 stolen paintings recovered in Athens May 28, 1997
• Art thefts in Spain increase 49 percent last year May 28, 1997
• UNESCO urges protection of cultural heritage in Afghan conflict May 27, 1997
• Thieves rob South Africa of its cultural heritage May 26, 1997
• Stealing beauty from Africa May 23, 1997
• Yeltsin returns trophy art law to parliament May 23, 1997
• La Fenice arson: two arrests made May 23, 1997
• Theft at Keats-Shelley House May 22, 1997
• Mr. Bland's Evil Plot to Control the World
  Article on map thief Gilbert Bland in the June 1997 issue of Outside Magazine.
• Paintings worth £50,000 destroyed in mansion fire May 22, 1997
• Himmler wanted Bayeux Tapestry May 20, 1997
• Germans ran systematic wartime plunder campaign May 20, 1997
• Auctioneers 'fix antique prices' May, 18 1997
• Amber Room Piece May Have Surfaced, Part II May 17 1997
• VIETNAM: MARKET REFORM OPENS DOORS TO SMUGGLING OF RELICS May 17, 1997
• Looted Amber Room mosaic found May 16, 1997
• Palace officials admit city's gift has been lost for 80 years May 16, 1997
• Nine years for man who 'fenced' antiques May 14, 1997
• £20,000 art show exhibit vandalised May 13, 1997
• False Historic Documents sold by Michael Hurwitz May 12, 1997
• Israeli police probe art theft ring May 11, 1997
• `Shock Artist' Faces Corpse Charges May 7, 1997
• flooded Grand Forks Art organizations May 6, 1997
• Italy Unveils Plan To Protect Art Treasures May 5, 1997
• Portrait nazis stole is hotly disputed May 5, 1997
• Paintings rescued as fire rages in Royal Academy May 4, 1997
  (background articles: Business as usual as Royal Academy staff rescue art and: Queen's praise for rescue teams in fire at Royal Academy May 5, 1997)
• Missing sculpture found in terrorist check May 3, 1997
• Cultural heritage in danger May 2, 1997
• Detective paid £60,000 for 'ugly' Rembrandt April 30, 1997
• Lvov mourns for victims of tragic events five years ago April 30, 1977
• Romanov Jewels Delivered to Russian Embassy April 29, 1977
  Russian Treasures Headed for Houston May 2, 1997
• Palace intruder triggers security alert April 29, 1997