Museums & Institutions Winterizing Monuments, Digitizing Archives: How Ukraine Is Fighting to Preserve Its Cultural Heritage a Year Into the Russian Invasion UNESCO has identified damage to 241 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine since February 2022. By Eileen Kinsella, Feb 27, 2023
Law & Politics A French Court Has Ordered Christie’s to Restitute an Adriaen Van Der Werff Painting That Was Stolen During World War II Parisian collector Lionel Hauser reported the work's theft in 1945. By Sarah Cascone, Feb 1, 2023
Crime A Geneva Court Has Found Antiquities Dealer Ali Aboutaam Guilty of Illegally Importing Artifacts He was given a suspended jail sentence and a $500,000 fine. By Eileen Kinsella, Jan 26, 2023
Crime A Renowned Archaeologist Is Calling on Sotheby’s to Withdraw Potentially Looted Antiquities From Its Auction Christos Tsirogiannis, an expert at identifying illicit antiquities, is once again sounding the alarm. By Sarah Cascone, Dec 6, 2022
Crime Two American Expats, Whose Guatemala Home Turned Up More Than 1,200 Pre-Hispanic Artifacts, Face Charges of Smuggling A raid of the couple's home uncovered archaeological objects, and significant works in jade and basalt. By Sarah Cascone, Nov 17, 2022
Crime Disgraced Antiques Dealer Subhash Kapoor Was Handed a 10-Year Jail Sentence by an Indian Court for Dealing in Stolen Objects U.S. authorities are also investigating Kapoor and have returned hundreds of objects worth millions to India. By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 2, 2022
Law & Politics The Judd Foundation Is Suing Two Galleries for ‘Disfiguring’ an $850,000 Donald Judd Sculpture With Fingerprints Fingerprints can "leave permanent, disfiguring, irreversible marks" on Judd's anodized aluminum surfaces, the foundation says. By Sarah Cascone, Oct 6, 2022
Law & Politics FBI Agents Found a Chopped-Up Roman Mosaic of the Mythical Medusa in an L.A. Storage Unit After Following an Anonymous Tip The object had been chopped into 16 pieces. By Sarah Cascone, Sep 6, 2022
Archaeology & History The Archaeologist Who Discovered King Tut’s Tomb Almost Certainly Stole Artifacts From It, a New Book Reveals A previously unpublished letter provides strong evidence. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 17, 2022
Law & Politics For Years, Art Dealer Georges Lotfi Helped Investigators Root Out Antiquities Traffickers. Now Prosecutors Are Hunting for Him Investigators say the tipster became too assured of his own self-importance. By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 9, 2022
Museums & Institutions Arts Council England Has Issued New ‘Proactive’ Restitution Advice for Museums, Replacing Outdated, Two-Decade-Old Guidance The previous report was issued all the way back in 2000. By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 8, 2022
Crime A Dutch Court Upheld an Eight-Year Sentence for the Daring Serial Thief Who Stole Nearly $20 Million in Art From Museums The court wants to send a message about the serious nature of art theft. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 25, 2022
Crime A British Dealer Accused of Conspiring With Inigo Philbrick in His Elaborate Art-Fraud Scheme Now Faces Extradition to the U.S. Newland is home on bail and under electronic monitoring in London. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 21, 2022
Law & Politics Dealer Inigo Philbrick Gets Seven Years in Prison for ‘One of the Most Significant Frauds’ in Art-Market History Philbrick was found guilty of defrauding clients out of more than $86 million. By Eileen Kinsella, May 23, 2022
Crime London Galleries Ordered to Return a $1.2 Million Chagall to a U.S. Collector Swindled by Disgraced Dealer Ezra Chowaiki Chowaiki only handed over $900,000 of the $1.2 million purchase price to the client, pocketing the rest. By Sarah Cascone, May 11, 2022
