Heist! How to Steal a Masterpiece (And Why You Probably Shouldn’t Try)

How do thieves pull off museum heists? What happens to a stolen Picasso? Are there really so many lasers involved… or is that just Hollywood?

This talk explores the surprising world of museum heists, from the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa to a smash and grab targeting Yogi Berra’s World Series rings to the case of a Rembrandt swiped four times from the same museum. We’ll examine spectacular security failures, the curious psychology of art thieves, and how changing ideas about the purpose of museums continue to shape modern art crime. Along the way, you’ll learn what actually works in museum security, why some masterpieces vanish without a trace, and what drives someone to steal something they can never sell.

Erin L. Thompson (www.artcrimeprof.com) is America’s only professor of art crime. She holds a PhD in Art History and a JD, both from Columbia University, and teaches at the City University of New York. She is the author of Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of American Monuments (Norton, 2022) and The Styrofoam Mummy and Other Tales from the Dark Side of the Antiquities Market (Norton, forthcoming in 2027).