A fascinating and gripping (but ultimately depressing!) survey of all the art works that have been stolen and which we will now never (probably) have the chance to enjoy. Art theft may not seem the most heinous of crimes but it is a crime nonetheless, and one which has many victims. Informative, engagingly written, and with many excellent illustrations, I found this a compelling read, with its mix of true crime and art history. A must read for any art lover.

Art Heist: 50 Artworks You Will Never See is an interesting compilation of art robberies in history. Divided by whether the works were recovered or not, it covers most major art heists in history.

Art theft has always been fascinating. But "Art Heist: 50 Artworks You Will Never See" by Susie Hodge takes that curiosity to a new level by exploring the incredible, often heartbreaking stories behind famous stolen artworks that have vanished without a trace. Hodge unveils the mysteries surrounding iconic pieces like Caravaggio’s "Nativity," Michelangelo’s "Mask of a Faun," and Van Gogh’s "The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring." These are pieces of art history that vanished, in some cases forever, leaving a void for both the art world and fans of these legendary artists.

Hodge’s storytelling has a satisfying mix of art history, mystery, and a bit of true crime edge. Each chapter covers a new heist, complete with vivid descriptions and high-quality photos of the missing artwork—an ironic reminder of what we’ll never see in real life. She doesn’t just stop at recounting the thefts; she digs into the impact these works had before they disappeared, painting a rich portrait of both the art itself and the cultural loss its theft represents.

For art lovers, the loss is palpable. Knowing that someone might have these masterpieces stashed in a private vault or left to rot in an abandoned hideout somewhere is almost like reading a novel with an unsolved ending. Hodge brings out these emotions with plenty of research and colorful narratives, making each chapter feel like a mini art mystery.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is the book I didn’t know I needed. Reading it is fulfils the same desires that falling down random internet rabbit holes does.

This was a concise look at a lot of art heists. It was informative. The photographs were of high quality and really made the book come alive. This is perfect for any art lover who likes to look at photos about art heists and likes limited info. For me I felt it could have been longer and more detailed by it was enjoyabke and I recommended this to anyone who love quick chapters and lovely art photographs. It could also do with more photographs.
Thank netgallery and publisher and author.

Why You Should Read Art Heist:
Whether you’re an art lover or a true-crime enthusiast, Art Heist will keep you hooked. It’s a meticulously researched and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of art, crime, and history. If you’ve ever been curious about what drives people to steal priceless artworks—and how investigators go about trying to recover them—this book offers rich insights.

The stories behind the stolen art pieces also serve as a reminder of the profound impact that artists like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Cézanne, and Van Gogh continue to have on the world. Each stolen work is a tragedy for art lovers, but Susie Hodge helps us appreciate their significance all the more, even in their absence.

This is a book you’ll find hard to put down. The storytelling is not only engaging but often reads like a detective novel—full of clues, red herrings, and endless twists. Yet, amidst the intrigue, there is a sense of sadness in knowing that many of these artworks may never be recovered.

This was an interesting look at a bunch of heists and the art that was stolen during them. I'd heard about some of it before, but a lot of it was interesting new information for me. I found it easy to read since it gave enough details about each event to hold my interest, but it also was quick-paced and moved on to the next topic after a few pages. It was also well organized in chapters and subheadings. This is interesting in an art sense but also a true crime sense.

This was a fascinating look at the different types of art heists (e.g., smash and grab, hoists), the people who commit art crimes, and the types and variety of art they steal. It's always been fascinating to me to see the motivation behind people stealing art they can't display or have to take great pains to sell. This book includes descriptions of many stolen art works we know about, and many I never heard of, and talks about ones that have been recovered, and many that were not. I like that there are pictures included of both the art work, and the thieves. This is a great addition to any art library.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Ivy Press for a review copy.

Susie Hodge's Art Heist: 50 Artworks You Will Never See gathers global cases of art theft from world war II to the present. The book is divided into two section, one listing the works stolen and still at large or and a second section about art works that were successfully recovered.

It's an okay book, for each chapter, Hodge provides a narration detailing the works creation, some of its provenance and then the theft and investigation into it. In general it reads like a coffee table book, as many of the cases detailed in this single book have full monographs of their own. (WW 2 art theft has been explored in several titles including The Rape of Europe, Stealing the Mystic Lamb about the Ghent Altarpiece, etc.).

Great for generalists or a middle grade audience, but it doesn't provide a list of sources and those interested in this topic might be better served by the books focused on the individual cases.

Art Heists happen around the world much more often than you would think. Art is my biggest passion, and although it makes me incredibly angry/upset that people do it, I do find it very interesting to read about (I guess it’s the true crime junkie in me).

Art Heist tells the stories of heists that have taken place throughout history, many of which are still unsolved to this day. Some of these priceless works of art are probably lost to us forever, but despite so much being lost, it makes me happy that we still remember these works of art, and keep them alive. Hopefully one day (preferably in my lifetime), some of these pieces will resurface and find their way into the hands of the right people.

I found this book incredibly fascinating, not only learning which artworks have been stolen, but also some of the bizarre and downright crazy ways some of the heists were pulled off. There were some heists included that I did already know about, for example, the stealing of Munch’s The Scream, but that didn’t make me enjoy this book any less. A mixture of art, history, and crime, this book will appeal to many, and it’s definitely one I recommend.

I give Art Heist a 4.5 star rating!

This is a beautiful book with stunning photos of missing art pieces along with associated museums and buildings. And that’s not all. Each page has a well-written description of what happened to the art which is heart-breaking.

While thousands of pieces have been stolen, Susie Hodge has highlighted 50 pieces that range from those taken during wars, from burglaries in museums and private homes and even some large pieces taken from outdoor art galleries. She said $4-6 billion worth of art is stolen around the world each year. With slick criminals and months of planning, they are able to move art quickly and take the goods. It’s a huge concern as many are works from the most famous artists. Hodge said when art is stolen, part of the culture is taken away. Most of the book is about stolen art but the last section reports on art that has been returned.

As a former owner of a picture frame business, we were so careful handling paintings and objects of art. Yet, we know that thieves don’t care. They take sharp knives to get a canvas out of the frame and it’s not an easy repair if the art is ever found. It makes me cringe thinking about this devastating loss and thoughtless control of so many pieces.

This is a book for anyone that loves art and history which would also make a great gift. The advantage of an e-book is to expand the details of the photos and make the print larger. Yet, it’s such an interesting conversation piece that it would be ideal to have this on the coffee table to share with your family and friends.

My thanks to Ivy Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of September 17, 2024.

A book that does just what you'd expect – reveal famous artworks that have been half-inched, whether they are in the final quarter here, of ones that have been recovered and are now back on display, with perhaps more renown than before they went missing – or in the bulk of the book, like so many diverse pieces. Big hitting British sculptors get their metal taken, probably for scrap at a tiny per cent of the art's value, museums are raided and mansions tunnelled into, artists make kind of art in 'Wanted' posters for what was once on display, and is no longer.

Here we get suitable photos and images, showing us what is missing – and in a few famous places the gap where the loss still remains. It's a book that covers the full gamut of the Western art canon, from the Altarpiece of Ghent to Warhol prints. This is kind of a trivial art book – it certainly can't go too far into much, even about the Monuments Men and their more modern recovery-minded colleagues, but from the purloining Nazis to the most uneducated Romanian burglars it's all here in very readable form. File it under 'true crime', file it under 'art', but I'd file it under fun, and I really appreciated my look at it. Bearing no real faults, it probably deserves five stars.

I do have to admit, art theft is a special interest of mine. This book does a great job for those already interested in this subject and those new to the topic. I loved that this was part pictures part writing and I think it balances both aspects well. There were a lot of pieces of art and thefts that were completely new to me, which I enjoyed learning about. I highly recommend this book to any history nerd, art enthusiast, or anyone interested in crime.

As an Art History student this book was an amazing read. I love anything to do with obscure art facts and knowing more about art related crimes or history.

Such an interesting read that covers some of the most famous cases of art theft and some gems that you've never heard of. I particularly liked how this book didn't just go into detail case by case but also shed a lot of light on the complexities that come with art heists. Notably, it was really interesting to read how difficult it can be to catch art theft, especially when there have been security loopholes that thieves have taken advantage of. Moreover, there is a lot of mystery that shadows finding art thieves, especially as it is not usually a crime committed by a lone thief.

I also found it interesting how many art works are still to be recovered vs those that were eventually discovered. It raises important questions about the accountability and how politics can influence who's hands art ends up.

I would've loved a bit of variation in structure as some points felt quite slow especially when a case wasn't as interesting as some of the others or the art stolen wasn't something I found interesting but a great deep dive into art theft nevertheless!

I have always wondered why art was stolen, and I feel as though Susie Hodge does a fantastic job at answering this question. Even though the book is non-fiction, it is engaging and allows the reader to easily access a world that not many get to enjoy in real life.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ivy Press, and Susie Hodge for the ARC! All opinions and words are my own.

It has always been a fascination to me: the pieces of art lost to time by foreign hands. Where are they now? A basement, an attic, growing dust in some warehouse somewhere? The extensive details plus photos in this book truly quenched my thirst for the subject. My favorite, of this bunch, being "Vase with Flowers" by Van Gogh. Something truly sad about such a bright picture being stolen. I can only hope that in my lifetime it returns back into the careful hands of conservations.

A very interesting book! The artwork covered was all amazing! And it's disappointing that those discussed in the first part of the book were never recovered, because those artworks are all a piece of the artists' souls now lost forever. What gets me is how bold these thieves were, and how in some, the lack of security all but begged for the thefts to occur. This was a very different way of learning about art, but intriguing all the same. Susie Hodge succeeds at informing and entertaining with this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for access to this arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Art heist brings us a detailed investigation into stolen art, both still missing and also retrieved. Susie Hodge is and engaging and interesting investigator. Art is not something I have a huge amount of knowledge on and hodge kept me interested throughout. Filled with an array of pictures to bring the to life and many other information boxes, giving details on particular artists and art movements, this is an overall engaging and gripping book about the criminality surrounding the art world. She brings us much known art thefts such as the Mona Lisa and ones much less known but equally as important, the repeated theft of Chinese art work from many places around the world.
I will certainly be recommending this book to anyone interested in crime, art, or someone who just wants an enjoyable no enticing read.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this short novella

I have always loved art and going to museums so when I saw this book on NetGalley I was instantly interested in reading about art that's been stolen throughout history, and the information I read was fascinating to me & it's left me wanting to find other books 📚 with information on more art throughout the ages.

So for anyone who loves history and art then this short novella may cure an itch.