NCJ Number
75020
Journal
Connecticut Law Review Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1978) Pages: 702-726
Date Published
1978
Length
25 pages
Annotation
An international clearinghouse of information on stolen art objects is proposed to combat the growing numbers of art thefts.
Abstract
The International Foundation for Art Research in New York is conducting a feasibility study for an art theft archive to inventory stolen art and disseminate this information to law enforcement agencies, are specialists, banks, and insurance companies. Any international archive will be subject to considerable pressures from governments and private interests. Countries have different laws regarding art theft, and museums' acquisition goals often conflict with government policy on exporting artifacts. Thus, an archive's effectiveness may depend on the restrictions it places on data collection and dissemination activities. In deciding what information should be included in its records, an archive will have to define theft, art, and who qualifies as an authoritative source for reporting a theft. Issues that arise when determining theft include the status of items illegally exported from a country, the authenticity or ownership of the stolen item, failure to report a theft to the police, and the statutes of limitations. Gathering information from all sources instead of only police records could expose an archive to lawsuits. The archive could confine its records to specific types of art or objects with a minimum established value. However, a flexible definition would be preferable, with criteria concerning the item's uniqueness, unalterability, and authenticity. The central task of an archive would be to register and update useful data obtained from art collectors, museums, law enforcement agencies, customs and tax inspectors, INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization), and the Art Dealers Association of America. Cataloging methods would focus on unalterable features of an object, based on a standardized questionnaire. Photographic records would provide the most reliable descriptions. The archive could control access by placing only information pertinent to recognition of stolen objects in the open inventory or channeling all requests through professional organizations. Some critics claim that international archive and that an efficient, computerized data bank would be extremely expensive. Others feel that the existence of such a system would itself deter art theft. Efforts to catalog art in France, the United State, Belgium, and Italy demonstrate that an inventory is an effective and feasible method to deal with theft. Over 75 footnotes accompany the article.