The original organization who has tracked art crime is Interpol, [International Criminal Police Organization], which was created in in 1923 to assist international criminal police co-operation. Interpol, originally was organization's telegraphic address but was officially incorporated into the organization's name in 1956. The theft of cultural objects affects developed and developing countries alike. The two countries most affected by this phenomenon are France and Italy. The illicit trade in cultural objects is sustained by the demand from the arts market, the opening of borders, the improvement in transport systems and the political instability of certain countries. Since 1947, Interpol has been specifically involved with the pursuit of stolen works of art when the first list was published in that same year. Since then, the techniques have evolved greatly and Interpol has developed a highly efficient system for circulating information in the form of a database available to national law enforcement agencies.

The F.B.I. new art crime team is a group of eight agents working in major art markets around the country—New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Salt Lake City. The team is supported by two Assistant U.S. Attorneys and several FBI analysts. The primary focus of the team is the breaking up crime rings that steal and smuggle priceless works of art, loot archaeological sites, and churn out fakes and forgeries.

“Now we’ve got a team of agents nationwide that knows its stuff and can be deployed at a moment’s notice—and that’s going to make a world of difference in protecting national treasures.” Lynn Richardson, FBI National Art Theft program

Three thefts:

Munch theft description:
"On a Sunday afternoon in August 2004, two masked thieves entered the Munch Museum in a daylight raid and stole two paintings by Edvard Munch: The Scream, and The Madonna. Many museum-goers witnessed the thieves threaten the museum staff with guns and remove the paintings from the building. They later made their escape in a black Audi."

Cellini theft description:
In May 2003, at 4 AM, a thief used conveniently placed scaffolding to break into the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria through a first-floor window. Smashing the unprotected glass display case, the thief stole a gold, ebony and enamel salt cellar created by the noted Renaissance master Benvenuto Cellini. The salt cellar has been valued at approximately $55 million.

Largest US Art theft:
In March 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, was robbed by two unknown men. The thieves removed works of art whose value has been estimated as high as $300 million. These include: Vermeer, The Concert; Rembrandt, A Lady and Gentleman in Black; Rembrandt, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee; Rembrandt, Self-Portrait; Govaert Flinck, Landscape with Obelisk; Manet, Chez Tortoni.






F.B.I.'s top ten art crimes:

• Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft
• Sweden's National Museum Theft
• Theft of Munch's The Scream
• Theft of the Cellini Salt Cellar
• Theft of Caravaggio's Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco
• Theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius
• The Van Gogh Museum Robbery
• Theft of Cezanne's View of Auvers-sur-Oise
• Theft of Da Vinci's Madonna of the Yarnwinder