Course Catalog

Stolen! Art Theft and Western Culture

Maureen O'Brien De Geller Art and cultural property crime is like stealing history. Global art treasures have been taken from their original settings for centuries and in recent years there has been an effort to repatriate them to their country of origin. This course looks at the history and controversies behind such noted stolen cultural artifacts as the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, the Pergamon Altar and the Benin bronze plaques, as well as current threats to art removed from archaeological sites. The course will look at some of the reasons why people steal art, why works of art are treated as commodities, the theft of cultural artifacts in the time of war, and examine notable examples of stolen art, including the spectacular unresolved heist of masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The course will also examine the systemic looting of European cultural artifacts by the Nazis and the efforts to return recovered items to their rightful owners. Maureen O’Brien De Geller received her B.A. and M.A. from Dominican University of California where she presently teaches courses in Western and Non-Western Art History. She has also taught Art History at Sonoma State University and College of Marin and lectures for Elderhostel.

This class is not available at this time.

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