This Econtalk podcast covers related issues: https://www.econtalk.org/anja-shortland-on-lost-art/ https://www.econtalk.org/anja-shortland-on-lost-art/ Economis

This Econtalk podcast covers related issues: https://www.econtalk.org/anja-shortland-on-lost-art/ https://www.econtalk.org/anja-shortland-on-lost-art/ Economist and author Anja Shortland of King's College London talks about her new book, Lost Art, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. When a famous painting disappears into the underworld of stolen art, how does it make its way back into the legitimate world of auction houses and museums? Drawing on the archives of a private database of stolen objects--the Art Loss Register--Shortland discusses the economics of the art world when objects up for sale may be the result of theft. Also the Menil Collection's Byzantine Chapel: Mrs. de Menil, who resolved to rescue the frescoes, which were purportedly being sold on behalf of an art dealer. Provenance research revealed Cyprus as their place of origin and, with this knowledge in hand and permission from the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, the Menil purchased the frescoes on behalf of the Church. The Menil subsequently entered into a formal agreement with the Church, which granted permission to restore the frescoes (a three-year process), resulting in a long-term loan of the works