How Art Theft Affects the World

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Recommended: Importance of art in history

Art is our past, art is our present, and art is our future. Art is timeless, and it has lasted through past generations and will continue to last through future generations. Art theft costs billions of dollars each year and the black market is the biggest reason for that. Prevention is key in order to protect the art and the FBI Art Crime Team and the Art Loss Register play an important role in preventing art theft. Art is worth protecting because art makes an impression on everyone’s life.
The black market deals in fakes and forgeries and takes away opportunities for future generations to enjoy many of the wonderful masterpieces. Art is usually sold for only ten percent of its open market value on the black market (Wittman 15). People sell stolen masterpieces on the black market for the money and not for the beauty or inspiration the art is meant to be seen for. It is much harder to sell a very famous painting on the black market (Wittman 15), because people buying on the black market do not want to pay very much for a piece of art that is extremely well known. Art does not get sold for all the full potential value on the black market and people should respect the art for its beauty, not just value.
There are many pieces of art that get destroyed on the black market and some of them our works that are well known. Three Romanians stole seven works including Picasso, Monet, and Matisse. They tried to sell them in the black market then they left the works with one of the thief’s mothers. The pieces have never been found and could have likely been burned (“The Guardian”). This is just one example of how the black market affects the world of art. People never get to experience the art that is destroyed on the black market....

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...y of being able to see something that is timeless and priceless.

Works Cited
Art Loss Register. Art and Antique Loss Register, 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. .
Cultures Professionals Network. Guardian News, 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. .
FBI Art Theft. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
McShane, Thomas, and Dary Matera. Stolen Masterpiece Tracker. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2006. Print.
Museum Security Network. WordPress Entries, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. .
Whitfield, Martin. Telephone interview. 13 Apr. 2014.
Wittman, Robert K., and John Shiffman. Priceless. New York: Crown, 2010. Print.

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