Art Crime

This innovative course examines the unique topic of art crime and its relationship with the cultural sector and the international art market. As a multi-billion dollar industry, criminal activity within the art world assumes a range of forms, from the widespread deception achieved through the creation of fakes and forgeries, to more subtle incarnations/instances of ownership guises of looted antiquities and money laundering. As a threat to our collective cultural identity, the subject of art crime requires further investigation to understand its preconditions, processes, and consequences, all of which will be analyzed in-depth throughout this program. The first half of the program examines the broader context of art crime by identifying and defining the range of illegal activities that contribute to this unique phenomenon. By approaching the topic from both theoretical and practical perspectives, case studies will be used to explore the subjects of fakes, forgeries, and thefts. This will include contributions from a celebrated art forger and the world’s leading art detective. The second half of the program considers the challenges and complexities involved with cultural repatriation and restitution and explores legal, ethical, and technological approaches to mitigating or preventing current and future criminal activity within the cultural sector.