Art critic Alastair Sooke features V&A Art Symposium in his BBC article on the 'seedy reality' behind the myth of art crime

In the BBC's "Art Crime: The seedy reality behind the myth" (November 13), "Alastair Sooke, art critic for The Daily Telegraph, covers "Daring heists have a glamorous image. But in truth, the billion-dollar black market is a far dirtier business". As part of his research, he attended ARCA's symposium last week at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“The myth of the sophisticated, art-loving Hollywood gentleman art thief is nothing like the real thing,” says Dick Ellis, a career detective with London’s Metropolitan Police. He set up the Art and Antiques Squad at New Scotland Yard in 1989, and was involved in the recovery of a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, after it had been stolen from the first floor of the National Gallery in Oslo in 1994 by two thieves who gained access by using a ladder and breaking a glass window, before leaving a postcard in Norwegian: “Thanks for the poor security”. “In reality, art thieves are professional criminals who view art and antiques as a soft touch, offering potentially high rewards and/or the ability to utilise the asset as a form of collateral to fund other areas of criminal activity.”

In part, this explains one of the puzzles surrounding this form of art crime: why thieves would want to purloin world-famous works of art that are essentially unsellable because they would be recognised at once if they were ever offered for sale in the future.

While some criminals hope to ransom lost artworks back to the institutions from which they were stolen, this strategy rarely works, according to Dick Ellis, because paying out ransoms, as well as being illegal, only encourages further thefts. Institutions are more likely to offer rewards for information leading to the recovery of stolen artworks. A $5m reward, for instance, is on the table for anyone who can crack the Isabella Stewart Gardner case – though, 23 years on, this has yet to yield results. 

“Recovery rates internationally are very small, but best for well-known works of art,” explains Noah Charney, the founder of ARCA, and a professor of art history specialising in art crime. “So smarter criminals would steal B- or C-level works of art rather than more famous ones.”

With ransom rarely an option, criminals find other uses for high-profile stolen paintings, which often accrue a new value on the black market – typically, according to Ellis, around three to 10% of a painting’s total estimated value as reported in the media. Once this value has been determined, a stolen painting can then be offered as collateral to help secure a loan to finance illicit endeavours. “In this way stolen art actually funds activities such as drugs or tobacco trafficking,” Ellis explains.

Moreover, he continues, “Art now provides an alternative mechanism to transporting cash” – offering a solution for criminals keen to circumvent money-laundering regulations. “Stolen art can easily be carried across international borders and is used as a kind of banker’s draft to pay for things like drugs consignments. It has an international value without the hassle of currency conversion and may even be accepted as a trophy payment by senior cartel members.”

In the BBC's "Art Crime: The seedy reality behind the myth" (November 13), "Alastair Sooke, art critic for The Daily Telegraph, covers "Daring heists have a glamorous image. But in truth, the billion-dollar black market is a far dirtier business". As part of his research, he attended ARCA's symposium last week at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“The myth of the sophisticated, art-loving Hollywood gentleman art thief is nothing like the real thing,” says Dick Ellis, a career detective with London’s Metropolitan Police. He set up the Art and Antiques Squad at New Scotland Yard in 1989, and was involved in the recovery of a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, after it had been stolen from the first floor of the National Gallery in Oslo in 1994 by two thieves who gained access by using a ladder and breaking a glass window, before leaving a postcard in Norwegian: “Thanks for the poor security”. “In reality, art thieves are professional criminals who view art and antiques as a soft touch, offering potentially high rewards and/or the ability to utilise the asset as a form of collateral to fund other areas of criminal activity.”

In part, this explains one of the puzzles surrounding this form of art crime: why thieves would want to purloin world-famous works of art that are essentially unsellable because they would be recognised at once if they were ever offered for sale in the future.

While some criminals hope to ransom lost artworks back to the institutions from which they were stolen, this strategy rarely works, according to Dick Ellis, because paying out ransoms, as well as being illegal, only encourages further thefts. Institutions are more likely to offer rewards for information leading to the recovery of stolen artworks. A $5m reward, for instance, is on the table for anyone who can crack the Isabella Stewart Gardner case – though, 23 years on, this has yet to yield results. 

“Recovery rates internationally are very small, but best for well-known works of art,” explains Noah Charney, the founder of ARCA, and a professor of art history specialising in art crime. “So smarter criminals would steal B- or C-level works of art rather than more famous ones.”

With ransom rarely an option, criminals find other uses for high-profile stolen paintings, which often accrue a new value on the black market – typically, according to Ellis, around three to 10% of a painting’s total estimated value as reported in the media. Once this value has been determined, a stolen painting can then be offered as collateral to help secure a loan to finance illicit endeavours. “In this way stolen art actually funds activities such as drugs or tobacco trafficking,” Ellis explains.

Moreover, he continues, “Art now provides an alternative mechanism to transporting cash” – offering a solution for criminals keen to circumvent money-laundering regulations. “Stolen art can easily be carried across international borders and is used as a kind of banker’s draft to pay for things like drugs consignments. It has an international value without the hassle of currency conversion and may even be accepted as a trophy payment by senior cartel members.”

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From Outside Neolithic Walls: It’s a Matter of Scale and Resources*

Participants attending PRTP-Zagreb
from March 10-15, 2013
Source: Holocaust Art Restitution Project

by Martin Terrazas, ARCA Class 2013

This is in response to several messages in the past weeks in retrospect of time spent in Amelia: 

The multidisciplinary approach undertaken by both the Association for Research into Crimes against Art and Provenance Research Training Program is enriching and valuable. As can be understood in headlines regarding the fight over control of auction houses; the demands of the international art market require broad perspectives, for example, where an art historian is able to discuss accounting, archaeology, criminology, finance, history, and law, to name just a few examples, in passing conversation. The future of sound due diligence and reasonable provenance research depend on these individuals to engage in collaborative dialogues in an organic fashion; to make it second nature to elicit information and ask for assistance when problems arise. Globalized business, proper execution of deliverables, and dignified presentation is no longer optional; partnerships, as can be seen by recent headlines, can destruct in moments.

Taking a page from military vocabulary: VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. What has been the largest lesson from both programs is to embrace VUCA. When a “poison pill” comes your way, it is essential not to recourse into territoriality, but rather to accept and learn how to improve operations. Realizing that leadership is not a prize, but rather an obligation to serve, is something that many have forgotten on the way towards comfort: When cultural property has unknown provenance or has been stolen, it hurts not only the responsible parties, but all involved in the market. Provenance research and art crime prevention is a means to an end, whether or not that be restitution and repatriation or seizure and legal sentence by respective authorities. There is no reason for delay regarding important issues such as who has proper title and what occurred at the scene of the crime. Instead of bureaucracy, individuals are owed personal honesty and scientific investigation. Cooperation between parties is essential.

In Amelia, there were discussions regarding the need for a focus in the international art market through financial statements and the fundamentals of business. For example, sometimes artists don't know how to balance a check book. While easy to criticize, even seasoned businessmen and businesswomen in the industry are guilty of this lapse of judgement. This is a lesson that is particular poignant, not only after Mr. Loeb's letter regarding management at Sotheby's, the current controversy at the Detroit Institute of Arts, changes with the Art Loss Register, Art Recovery International, and the Art Compliance Company, but also with news of China Poly's planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At the end of the day, these are also business. Despite its cost on the balance sheet, protecting the consumer through investigation of provenance, is a priority. It will be more expensive in the long-run selling damaged goods.

Conversations in the past months have made it clear that there is not one definitive individual or source regarding data authority in the art market. There is no one single panacea, roughly phrased, for the ill that is looted cultural property without good provenance: Anyone to state differently ought to be questioned. (The discussion over SB 2212: United States Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act can included in this reference. UNESCO has been notoriously absent in its opinion of the legislation.) A tide of transparency has been occurring in the art market whether desired or not. Maybe not in a year or a decade; given the current trends starting with past generations, it seems to be increasingly harder to hide and sell devalued illicit cultural property

. 

There is entrepreneurship and employment to be found in this trend. Inspiration can be seen in the activities of entities worldwide testing the market. Organizations desiring to improve the industry include Arbeitsstelle für Provenienzrecherche/-forschung; Archaeology Southwest; ArtCops; ArtTactic; the Association for Research into Crimes against Art; the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association; Chasing Aphrodite; the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims’ Assets; the Commission for Looted Art in Europe; the Cultural Policy Center; Elginism; the Forschungsstelle "Entartete Kunst"; the Getty Research Institute; the Holocaust Art Restitution Project; the International Foundation for Art Research; the International Research Portal for Records Related to Nazi-Era Cultural Property; Illicit Cultural Property; Koordinierungsstelle Magdeburg; the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation; the Portable Antiquities Scheme; Saving Antiquities for Everyone; the Sustainable Preservation Initiative; Trafficking Culture; the United States National Archives Archival Recovery; and the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (to name just a few). While change with business cycles will occur; social media statistics show that demand is strong.

To paraphrase Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s latest TEDx talk titled “Why business can be good a solving social problems”: 

What separates this time from any other brief time on earth is awareness.
Why are we having so much difficult struggling with these problems?

While clearly Mr. Porter referenced larger ills; the concept remains fundamental. The international art market, like all business, is charged to create shared value. Given the recent headlines, it is important to ask: 

Is the international art market properly creating this value? 

If not, how can it be improved? 

What is each of us doing to make it so?

* The author acknowledges that the article may seem convoluted and difficult to understand. All questions and commentary are welcome and will be answered on the Holocaust Art Restitution Facebook page after posting.

Participants attending PRTP-Zagreb
from March 10-15, 2013
Source: Holocaust Art Restitution Project

by Martin Terrazas, ARCA Class 2013

This is in response to several messages in the past weeks in retrospect of time spent in Amelia: 

The multidisciplinary approach undertaken by both the Association for Research into Crimes against Art and Provenance Research Training Program is enriching and valuable. As can be understood in headlines regarding the fight over control of auction houses; the demands of the international art market require broad perspectives, for example, where an art historian is able to discuss accounting, archaeology, criminology, finance, history, and law, to name just a few examples, in passing conversation. The future of sound due diligence and reasonable provenance research depend on these individuals to engage in collaborative dialogues in an organic fashion; to make it second nature to elicit information and ask for assistance when problems arise. Globalized business, proper execution of deliverables, and dignified presentation is no longer optional; partnerships, as can be seen by recent headlines, can destruct in moments.

Taking a page from military vocabulary: VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. What has been the largest lesson from both programs is to embrace VUCA. When a “poison pill” comes your way, it is essential not to recourse into territoriality, but rather to accept and learn how to improve operations. Realizing that leadership is not a prize, but rather an obligation to serve, is something that many have forgotten on the way towards comfort: When cultural property has unknown provenance or has been stolen, it hurts not only the responsible parties, but all involved in the market. Provenance research and art crime prevention is a means to an end, whether or not that be restitution and repatriation or seizure and legal sentence by respective authorities. There is no reason for delay regarding important issues such as who has proper title and what occurred at the scene of the crime. Instead of bureaucracy, individuals are owed personal honesty and scientific investigation. Cooperation between parties is essential.

In Amelia, there were discussions regarding the need for a focus in the international art market through financial statements and the fundamentals of business. For example, sometimes artists don't know how to balance a check book. While easy to criticize, even seasoned businessmen and businesswomen in the industry are guilty of this lapse of judgement. This is a lesson that is particular poignant, not only after Mr. Loeb's letter regarding management at Sotheby's, the current controversy at the Detroit Institute of Arts, changes with the Art Loss Register, Art Recovery International, and the Art Compliance Company, but also with news of China Poly's planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At the end of the day, these are also business. Despite its cost on the balance sheet, protecting the consumer through investigation of provenance, is a priority. It will be more expensive in the long-run selling damaged goods.

Conversations in the past months have made it clear that there is not one definitive individual or source regarding data authority in the art market. There is no one single panacea, roughly phrased, for the ill that is looted cultural property without good provenance: Anyone to state differently ought to be questioned. (The discussion over SB 2212: United States Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act can included in this reference. UNESCO has been notoriously absent in its opinion of the legislation.) A tide of transparency has been occurring in the art market whether desired or not. Maybe not in a year or a decade; given the current trends starting with past generations, it seems to be increasingly harder to hide and sell devalued illicit cultural property

. 

There is entrepreneurship and employment to be found in this trend. Inspiration can be seen in the activities of entities worldwide testing the market. Organizations desiring to improve the industry include Arbeitsstelle für Provenienzrecherche/-forschung; Archaeology Southwest; ArtCops; ArtTactic; the Association for Research into Crimes against Art; the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association; Chasing Aphrodite; the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims’ Assets; the Commission for Looted Art in Europe; the Cultural Policy Center; Elginism; the Forschungsstelle "Entartete Kunst"; the Getty Research Institute; the Holocaust Art Restitution Project; the International Foundation for Art Research; the International Research Portal for Records Related to Nazi-Era Cultural Property; Illicit Cultural Property; Koordinierungsstelle Magdeburg; the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation; the Portable Antiquities Scheme; Saving Antiquities for Everyone; the Sustainable Preservation Initiative; Trafficking Culture; the United States National Archives Archival Recovery; and the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (to name just a few). While change with business cycles will occur; social media statistics show that demand is strong.

To paraphrase Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s latest TEDx talk titled “Why business can be good a solving social problems”: 

What separates this time from any other brief time on earth is awareness.
Why are we having so much difficult struggling with these problems?

While clearly Mr. Porter referenced larger ills; the concept remains fundamental. The international art market, like all business, is charged to create shared value. Given the recent headlines, it is important to ask: 

Is the international art market properly creating this value? 

If not, how can it be improved? 

What is each of us doing to make it so?

* The author acknowledges that the article may seem convoluted and difficult to understand. All questions and commentary are welcome and will be answered on the Holocaust Art Restitution Facebook page after posting.

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Report from ARCA in Amelia: Judge Arthur Tompkins Lectures on "Art in War"; Derek Fincham on "Cultural Heritage Law"; and Dick Drent on Museum Security

by Summer Kelley-Bell, ARCA Intern

The last weeks have been endlessly busy and massively interesting.  Classes settled back into a normal routine after the close of ARCA’s Art Crime conference and we have all refocused ourselves to learning.  Rounding out the month of June and ushering in a cooler than usual July, our class time has been split between two professors each teaching two separate, but overlapping courses.  The first half of each week was dedicated to Judge Arthur Tompkins’ “Art Crime in War” course while the second half focused on Derek Fincham’s “Art and Heritage Law.”

2013 Course photo with Judge Arthur Tompkins

Arthur Tompkins, a sitting judge for the Ministry of Justice in New Zealand, started off each week for us.  His course took us from classical antiquity and up through the present day emphasizing the different ways that the world's art has suffered during times of armed conflict.  His classes looked at the destruction of the library at Nineveh and how it grew directly out of conflict with the Babylonians and moved all the way through today's current armed conflicts highlighting the impact of looting and the destruction of the Timbuktu manuscripts from Mali.

Each day’s classes brought us interesting case studies and underscored the laws that have successfully (and not so successfully) been applied over the years to try and combat the destruction of cultural heritage.  Judge Tompkins' course highlighted how art can be used as a tool by rulers to show the subjugation of those they have conquered and reminded us of the many different ways that we can use this awareness in order to protect art during war time in the future.

Field Class at the Necropoli
 della Banditaccia

Tompkins’ course was offset nicely by that of Derek Fincham, an associate professor at South Texas College of Law, who helped us apply legal concepts touched upon in Judge Tompkins’ class to modern day world events, bettering our understanding of the evolution of cultural heritage law as it is being applied today.  Dr. Fincham's course presented various case studies from differing countries in order to give us a broader view of the way that art crimes are being addressed in legal channels around the world. Throughout his course classroom and field class discussions were lively and highlighted the complex and oftentimes contentious relationships and ideological positions of many of the relevant stakeholders involved in the fields of cultural heritage.

It was a nice change of pace to have access to both professors for a full two weeks.  In this way, we could take knowledge gleaned in one course and apply it nearly immediately to the next. Learning and projects aren’t the only things keeping us occupied however.  Canada Day came just a few days before a pretty big American holiday this year. Not to be outdone, one of our resident Canadians brought in Canadian flag pins to celebrate the auspicious occasion. Then the interns offered up their house (which happens to have a pool) and we all took a break on Thursday to celebrate the Fourth of July.  There were hotdogs and potato salad for all as we basked in a bit of sunshine and celebrated America’s birthday.  Come Friday we were back to work however, with a closing class from Professor Fincham and a “hello there” to our next professor in the summer line-up.

Spray paint defacing tomb walls
at Banditaccia

The sixth week of classes started early Saturday morning with   Dick Drent, the Corporate Security Manager at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, teaching us about the complexities of museum security.  While this post only covers the first two days of his course, I can tell you that I will never be able to look at a museum the same way again.  Time has been moving much too quickly for this intern.

Classes have been grand, but as we pass the half way mark of the program I know the end of this summer will be a hard goodbye.  The professor’s we’ve had access to over the last few weeks have successfully distilled their knowledge into each of us, and now my brain is full up with all of the possibilities of the art world.  Each day brings with it new challenges and new information and I am so excited for all the new things I have yet to learn.  

by Summer Kelley-Bell, ARCA Intern

The last weeks have been endlessly busy and massively interesting.  Classes settled back into a normal routine after the close of ARCA’s Art Crime conference and we have all refocused ourselves to learning.  Rounding out the month of June and ushering in a cooler than usual July, our class time has been split between two professors each teaching two separate, but overlapping courses.  The first half of each week was dedicated to Judge Arthur Tompkins’ “Art Crime in War” course while the second half focused on Derek Fincham’s “Art and Heritage Law.”

2013 Course photo with Judge Arthur Tompkins

Arthur Tompkins, a sitting judge for the Ministry of Justice in New Zealand, started off each week for us.  His course took us from classical antiquity and up through the present day emphasizing the different ways that the world's art has suffered during times of armed conflict.  His classes looked at the destruction of the library at Nineveh and how it grew directly out of conflict with the Babylonians and moved all the way through today's current armed conflicts highlighting the impact of looting and the destruction of the Timbuktu manuscripts from Mali.

Each day’s classes brought us interesting case studies and underscored the laws that have successfully (and not so successfully) been applied over the years to try and combat the destruction of cultural heritage.  Judge Tompkins' course highlighted how art can be used as a tool by rulers to show the subjugation of those they have conquered and reminded us of the many different ways that we can use this awareness in order to protect art during war time in the future.

Field Class at the Necropoli
 della Banditaccia

Tompkins’ course was offset nicely by that of Derek Fincham, an associate professor at South Texas College of Law, who helped us apply legal concepts touched upon in Judge Tompkins’ class to modern day world events, bettering our understanding of the evolution of cultural heritage law as it is being applied today.  Dr. Fincham's course presented various case studies from differing countries in order to give us a broader view of the way that art crimes are being addressed in legal channels around the world. Throughout his course classroom and field class discussions were lively and highlighted the complex and oftentimes contentious relationships and ideological positions of many of the relevant stakeholders involved in the fields of cultural heritage.

It was a nice change of pace to have access to both professors for a full two weeks.  In this way, we could take knowledge gleaned in one course and apply it nearly immediately to the next. Learning and projects aren’t the only things keeping us occupied however.  Canada Day came just a few days before a pretty big American holiday this year. Not to be outdone, one of our resident Canadians brought in Canadian flag pins to celebrate the auspicious occasion. Then the interns offered up their house (which happens to have a pool) and we all took a break on Thursday to celebrate the Fourth of July.  There were hotdogs and potato salad for all as we basked in a bit of sunshine and celebrated America’s birthday.  Come Friday we were back to work however, with a closing class from Professor Fincham and a “hello there” to our next professor in the summer line-up.

Spray paint defacing tomb walls
at Banditaccia

The sixth week of classes started early Saturday morning with   Dick Drent, the Corporate Security Manager at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, teaching us about the complexities of museum security.  While this post only covers the first two days of his course, I can tell you that I will never be able to look at a museum the same way again.  Time has been moving much too quickly for this intern.

Classes have been grand, but as we pass the half way mark of the program I know the end of this summer will be a hard goodbye.  The professor’s we’ve had access to over the last few weeks have successfully distilled their knowledge into each of us, and now my brain is full up with all of the possibilities of the art world.  Each day brings with it new challenges and new information and I am so excited for all the new things I have yet to learn.  

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ARCA's Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Begins Today

2013 ARCA Course Faculty and Schedule

Course I - June 3-7  “The International Art Market and Associated Risk”

Dr. Tom Flynn, London Art Lecturer, Docent and Art Historian

Course II - June 10-14   “Art Crime and its History”

Dr. Noah Charney, Founding Director of ARCA - Adjunct Professor of Art History, American University of Rome 

Course III - June 17-21  “Transnational Organized Crime and Art”

Dr. Edgar Tijhuis, Lawyer and Assistant Professor of Criminology at the VU University in Amsterdam 

Courses IV - June 24-26 and July 1-3  “Art Crime in War”

Judge Arthur Tompkins, District Court Judge in New Zealand

Courses V - June 26-28 and July 3-5  “Art and Heritage Law”

Dr. Derek Fincham, ARCA Dissertation Advisor and Assistant Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law

Courses VI - July 06 -10  “Risk Assessment and Museum Security”

Dick Drent, Director of Security, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam 

Course VII - July 17-19 and 24-26 “Cultural Security”

Dr. Erik Nemeth, Adjunct Staff at RAND Corporation, Founder and Researcher at Cultural Security 

Course VIII - July 22-24 “Insurance Claims and the Art Trade”

Dorit Straus, Vice President and Worldwide Specialty Fine Art Manager for Chubb & Son, a division of Federal Insurance Company

Course IX - July 29-31 and August 5-7 “Antiquities and Identity”

Dr. Valerie Higgins, Associate Professor and Chair of Archaeology and Classics at the American University of Rome

Course X – July 31-August 2 and August 7-9  “Art Policing, Protection and Investigation”

Richard Ellis, Detective (retired) and founder of Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Squad,

Art Management Group Director

Here's a link to the ARCA website and more information on the program.

2013 ARCA Course Faculty and Schedule

Course I - June 3-7  “The International Art Market and Associated Risk”

Dr. Tom Flynn, London Art Lecturer, Docent and Art Historian

Course II - June 10-14   “Art Crime and its History”

Dr. Noah Charney, Founding Director of ARCA - Adjunct Professor of Art History, American University of Rome 

Course III - June 17-21  “Transnational Organized Crime and Art”

Dr. Edgar Tijhuis, Lawyer and Assistant Professor of Criminology at the VU University in Amsterdam 

Courses IV - June 24-26 and July 1-3  “Art Crime in War”

Judge Arthur Tompkins, District Court Judge in New Zealand

Courses V - June 26-28 and July 3-5  “Art and Heritage Law”

Dr. Derek Fincham, ARCA Dissertation Advisor and Assistant Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law

Courses VI - July 06 -10  “Risk Assessment and Museum Security”

Dick Drent, Director of Security, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam 

Course VII - July 17-19 and 24-26 “Cultural Security”

Dr. Erik Nemeth, Adjunct Staff at RAND Corporation, Founder and Researcher at Cultural Security 

Course VIII - July 22-24 “Insurance Claims and the Art Trade”

Dorit Straus, Vice President and Worldwide Specialty Fine Art Manager for Chubb & Son, a division of Federal Insurance Company

Course IX - July 29-31 and August 5-7 “Antiquities and Identity”

Dr. Valerie Higgins, Associate Professor and Chair of Archaeology and Classics at the American University of Rome

Course X – July 31-August 2 and August 7-9  “Art Policing, Protection and Investigation”

Richard Ellis, Detective (retired) and founder of Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Squad,

Art Management Group Director

Here's a link to the ARCA website and more information on the program.

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Dan Brown's fictional Robert Langdon uses the "ARCA Web site" in "Inferno" to research the Horses of St. Mark's in Venice

The Horses of St. Mark's (The Triamphal Quadriga)

by Catherine Schofield Sezgin,
ARCA Blog Editor-in-Chief

In Chapter 17 of Dan Brown's Inferno published May 14 by Doubleday, (and reviewed by Janet Maslin in The New York Times), the fourth book featuring Robert Langdon, the fictional Harvard University professor of religious iconography and symbology, researches the Horses of St. Mark's: 

As it turned out, the powerful bodies of the early Friesian horses had inspired the robust aesthetic of the Horses of St. Mark’s in Venice. According to the Web site, the Horses of St. Mark’s were so beautiful that they had become “history’s most frequently stolen pieces of art.”

Langdon had always believed that this dubious honor belonged to the Ghent Altarpiece and paid a quick visit to the ARCA Web site to confirm his theory. The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art offered no definitive ranking, but they did offer a concise history of the sculptures’ troubled life as a target of pillage and plunder.

This appears to be a reference to the blog post(s) by Judge ArthurTompkins, an ARCA Lecturer, written in June of 2011: The Four Horses of the Basilica San Marco, Venice (Part I); More on the History (Part II); Continued Short History (Part III); and The Four Horses Rest Inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice After Being Plundered from Constantinople in the 13th Century (Part IV). On the ARCA blog is another post about the "The Triamphal Quadriga" in Paris Diary: Replica of Stolen Art at Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.

Then Brown is a bit more definitive about what academics would question:

The four copper horses had been cast in the fourth century by an unknown Greek sculptor on the island of Chios, where they remained until Theodosius II whisked them off to Constantinople for display at the Hippodrome. Then, using the Fourth Crusade, when Venetian forces sacked Constantinople, the ruling doge demanded the four precious statues be transported via ship all the way back to Venice, a nearly impossible feat because of their size and weight. The horses arrived in Venice in 1254, and were installed in front of the façade of St. Mark’s Cathedral.

More than half a millennium later, in 1797, Napoleon conquered Venice and took the horses for himself. They were transported to Paris and prominently displayed atop the Arc de Triomphe. Finally, in 1815, following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and his exile, the horses were winched down from the Arc de Triomphe and shipped on a barge back to Venice, where they were reinstalled on the front balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica.

Although Langdon had been fairly familiar with the history of the horses, the ARCA site contained a passage that startled him.

The decorative collars were added to the horses’ necks in 1204 by the Venetians to conceal where the heads had been severed to facilitated their transportation by ship from Constantinople to Venice.

The Horses of St. Mark's (The Triamphal Quadriga)

by Catherine Schofield Sezgin,
ARCA Blog Editor-in-Chief

In Chapter 17 of Dan Brown's Inferno published May 14 by Doubleday, (and reviewed by Janet Maslin in The New York Times), the fourth book featuring Robert Langdon, the fictional Harvard University professor of religious iconography and symbology, researches the Horses of St. Mark's: 

As it turned out, the powerful bodies of the early Friesian horses had inspired the robust aesthetic of the Horses of St. Mark’s in Venice. According to the Web site, the Horses of St. Mark’s were so beautiful that they had become “history’s most frequently stolen pieces of art.”

Langdon had always believed that this dubious honor belonged to the Ghent Altarpiece and paid a quick visit to the ARCA Web site to confirm his theory. The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art offered no definitive ranking, but they did offer a concise history of the sculptures’ troubled life as a target of pillage and plunder.

This appears to be a reference to the blog post(s) by Judge ArthurTompkins, an ARCA Lecturer, written in June of 2011: The Four Horses of the Basilica San Marco, Venice (Part I); More on the History (Part II); Continued Short History (Part III); and The Four Horses Rest Inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice After Being Plundered from Constantinople in the 13th Century (Part IV). On the ARCA blog is another post about the "The Triamphal Quadriga" in Paris Diary: Replica of Stolen Art at Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.

Then Brown is a bit more definitive about what academics would question:

The four copper horses had been cast in the fourth century by an unknown Greek sculptor on the island of Chios, where they remained until Theodosius II whisked them off to Constantinople for display at the Hippodrome. Then, using the Fourth Crusade, when Venetian forces sacked Constantinople, the ruling doge demanded the four precious statues be transported via ship all the way back to Venice, a nearly impossible feat because of their size and weight. The horses arrived in Venice in 1254, and were installed in front of the façade of St. Mark’s Cathedral.

More than half a millennium later, in 1797, Napoleon conquered Venice and took the horses for himself. They were transported to Paris and prominently displayed atop the Arc de Triomphe. Finally, in 1815, following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and his exile, the horses were winched down from the Arc de Triomphe and shipped on a barge back to Venice, where they were reinstalled on the front balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica.

Although Langdon had been fairly familiar with the history of the horses, the ARCA site contained a passage that startled him.

The decorative collars were added to the horses’ necks in 1204 by the Venetians to conceal where the heads had been severed to facilitated their transportation by ship from Constantinople to Venice.

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ARCA Founder Noah Charney at TEDxCelje Speaks on Art Theft at the Louvre

Writer and art historian Noah Charney's TED talk given at a TEDx event in November is now online.  The talk is about art theft and the Mona Lisa and is entitled "How To Steal from the Louvre".

Writer and art historian Noah Charney's TED talk given at a TEDx event in November is now online.  The talk is about art theft and the Mona Lisa and is entitled "How To Steal from the Louvre".

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Rotterdam Art Heist: ARCA in the Media

Here's a few links to ARCA associates recently published in the media:

In Noah Charney's "Secret History of Art" column for artinfo.com, the founder of ARCA writes on "Rotterdam Art Heist Likely for Ransom".

In The New York Times, ARCA Trustee Anthony Amore, Security Director for The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, writes as an Op-Ed Contributor about "Debunking the Myth of Glamorous Art Thieves" in "No 'Thomas Crown Affair'".

Niels Rigter of Metro published an article online here (in Dutch, loosely translated into English) quotes ARCA's CEO Lynda Albertson (also pictured) about the difficultly of selling stolen art.

Bloomberg's Catherine Hickley article, "Art Thieves Struggle to Convert Monet, Picasso Into Cash", includes an interview with ARCA CEO Lynda Albertson.

ARCA Instructor Tom Flynn's blog "artknows" in "Will we never learn from art theft? Value is in the eye of the beholder" points out that  stealing art is done for all sorts of reasons -- especially if the paintings are displayed in buildings that are "woefully deficient in security"as pointed out by Dutch security consultant Ton Cremers.

In Illicit Cultural Property, the blog by ARCA Academic Director Derek Fincham, comments by Anthony Amore, Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register, and retired FBI agent Bob Wittman are highlighted.

Here's a few links to ARCA associates recently published in the media:

In Noah Charney's "Secret History of Art" column for artinfo.com, the founder of ARCA writes on "Rotterdam Art Heist Likely for Ransom".

In The New York Times, ARCA Trustee Anthony Amore, Security Director for The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, writes as an Op-Ed Contributor about "Debunking the Myth of Glamorous Art Thieves" in "No 'Thomas Crown Affair'".

Niels Rigter of Metro published an article online here (in Dutch, loosely translated into English) quotes ARCA's CEO Lynda Albertson (also pictured) about the difficultly of selling stolen art.

Bloomberg's Catherine Hickley article, "Art Thieves Struggle to Convert Monet, Picasso Into Cash", includes an interview with ARCA CEO Lynda Albertson.

ARCA Instructor Tom Flynn's blog "artknows" in "Will we never learn from art theft? Value is in the eye of the beholder" points out that  stealing art is done for all sorts of reasons -- especially if the paintings are displayed in buildings that are "woefully deficient in security"as pointed out by Dutch security consultant Ton Cremers.

In Illicit Cultural Property, the blog by ARCA Academic Director Derek Fincham, comments by Anthony Amore, Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register, and retired FBI agent Bob Wittman are highlighted.

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ARCA Opens Application for 2013 Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection

View of the civic tower from the garden of Palazzo Farrattini

The official application period for ARCA's 2013 Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection has opened.

The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) 2013 Postgraduate Certificate Program in International Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Studies will be held from May 31 through August 12, 2013 in the heart of Umbria in Amelia, Italy.

This interdisciplinary program offers substantive study for art police and security professionals, lawyers, insurers, curators, conservators, members of the art trade, and post-graduate students of criminology, law, security studies, sociology, art history, archaeology, and history.

In its fifth year, this academically intensive ten week program provides in-depth, postgraduate level instruction in a wide variety of theoretical and practical elements of art and heritage crime. Students will explore its history, its nature, its impact, and what is currently being done to mitigate it. Students completing the program earn a postgraduate certificate under the guidance of internationally renowned cultural property protection professionals.

This program will expose participants to an integrated curriculum which occurs in a highly interactive, participatory, student-centered setting. Instructional modules include both lectures and “hands-on” learning from case studies, in situ field classes and group discussions. At the end of the program, participants will have a solid mastery of a broad array of concepts pertaining to cultural property protection, preservation, conservation, and security.

Students explore such topics as: art crime and its history; art and heritage law criminology; art crime in war; the art trade; art insurance; art security; law enforcement methods; archaeological looting and policy; cultural security; and art forgery.

At the close of the 10 week lecture portion of the program each candidate must complete a considerable piece of written work demonstrating original and significant research. ARCA assigns a supervisor to oversee the research. The supervisor provides final approval of a finished paper, which should be of publishable quality. After completion of all program coursework and the final paper a student is awarded ARCA’s postgraduate certificate in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection.

Important Dates:

November 15, 2012 - Early Application Deadline

January 15, 2013 - Application Deadline

April 2013 - Advance Reading Assigned

May 30, 2013 - Students Arrive in Amelia

May 31, 2013 - Welcome and Orientation June 01, 2012

June 3, 2013 - Classes Begin

June 21-23, 2013 - ARCA Annual Conference

August 9, 2013 - Classes End

August 10-11, 2013 - Students Housing Check-out **

Nov. 15, 2013 - Research Paper Submission Deadline

**Some students stay a few days longer to participate in the August Palio dei Colombi, Notte Bianca and Ferragosto festivities.

For questions about programming, costs, and census availability, please write to us for a complete prospectus and application at: education@artcrimeresearch.org.

View of the civic tower from the garden of Palazzo Farrattini

The official application period for ARCA's 2013 Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection has opened.

The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) 2013 Postgraduate Certificate Program in International Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Studies will be held from May 31 through August 12, 2013 in the heart of Umbria in Amelia, Italy.

This interdisciplinary program offers substantive study for art police and security professionals, lawyers, insurers, curators, conservators, members of the art trade, and post-graduate students of criminology, law, security studies, sociology, art history, archaeology, and history.

In its fifth year, this academically intensive ten week program provides in-depth, postgraduate level instruction in a wide variety of theoretical and practical elements of art and heritage crime. Students will explore its history, its nature, its impact, and what is currently being done to mitigate it. Students completing the program earn a postgraduate certificate under the guidance of internationally renowned cultural property protection professionals.

This program will expose participants to an integrated curriculum which occurs in a highly interactive, participatory, student-centered setting. Instructional modules include both lectures and “hands-on” learning from case studies, in situ field classes and group discussions. At the end of the program, participants will have a solid mastery of a broad array of concepts pertaining to cultural property protection, preservation, conservation, and security.

Students explore such topics as: art crime and its history; art and heritage law criminology; art crime in war; the art trade; art insurance; art security; law enforcement methods; archaeological looting and policy; cultural security; and art forgery.

At the close of the 10 week lecture portion of the program each candidate must complete a considerable piece of written work demonstrating original and significant research. ARCA assigns a supervisor to oversee the research. The supervisor provides final approval of a finished paper, which should be of publishable quality. After completion of all program coursework and the final paper a student is awarded ARCA’s postgraduate certificate in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection.

Important Dates:

November 15, 2012 - Early Application Deadline

January 15, 2013 - Application Deadline

April 2013 - Advance Reading Assigned

May 30, 2013 - Students Arrive in Amelia

May 31, 2013 - Welcome and Orientation June 01, 2012

June 3, 2013 - Classes Begin

June 21-23, 2013 - ARCA Annual Conference

August 9, 2013 - Classes End

August 10-11, 2013 - Students Housing Check-out **

Nov. 15, 2013 - Research Paper Submission Deadline

**Some students stay a few days longer to participate in the August Palio dei Colombi, Notte Bianca and Ferragosto festivities.

For questions about programming, costs, and census availability, please write to us for a complete prospectus and application at: education@artcrimeresearch.org.

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ARCA’s Best Kept Secret: Views from the Early Career Panel

Meg Lambert in Amelia (Photo by Alesia Koush)

by Meg Lambert

A couple weeks ago I returned home from Amelia, Italy, where I presented in the early career panel at the fourth annual ARCA conference. All the typical things you might expect about attending a conference in late June in a beautiful Umbrian hillside town are true: the scenery was fantastic, the food was glorious, and the unparalleled espresso gave me heart palpitations. But in the weeks since I’ve come home, I have gained yet more appreciation for what I believe might be ARCA’s best kept (or least publicized) secret: ARCA has a particularly excited place in its heart for young students just finding their way into the field of art crime, and they support student work in a way few other organizations do. 

We already know that ARCA is making tremendous strides for education in art crime through the Postgraduate Certificate that is offered every year. However, it is in the small actions and words of ARCA directors and members that this support and excitement is most evident. I was lucky enough to experience this firsthand last weekend, when I traveled from Massachusetts to Italy (just for the weekend, never again) to give my first major presentation on my work to a room full of distinguished scholars and professionals in this field. One fourth of my way through the Friday night cocktails that kicked off the conference, I was fairly star struck from meeting so many influential and passionate people and having such earnest conversations with them. Never once did I feel like “just a student”. At any other conference, where academic hierarchy and competition determines your relationships with elder and younger colleagues alike, I might have had a much harder time finding my place as a newcomer. But at ARCA, there was only a great deal of excitement and anticipation for what my co-panelist, Aaron Haines, and I would bring to the bigger conversation of the conference as a whole. At every step of the way, we, and our significant number of under-30s peers, were treated as equals in the collective struggle to understand and address art crime.

This was true even during the many humbling times I realized just how new I still am in this field after three years of study. (Jason Felch, writer of Chasing Aphrodite, mentioned a few times how he considers himself a rookie after having been immersed in it for seven years.) For example, I shared the taxi from the train station to Amelia with George Abungu, a veritable giant in this field and this year’s recipient of the ARCA Lifetime Achievement Award. But since Dr. Abungu’s description of his work on our cab ride consisted solely of, “I’m an archaeologist, but these days I am doing mostly cultural heritage management”, I had no idea that he was so influential until his work was described during the awards. When I mentioned this to someone, probably Derek Fincham, he responded in a kind of excited, “I know, right?!” demeanor. No unpleasant surprise or haughty sniffing that I didn’t already know Dr. Abungu’s work. Just a shared excitement that George could be with us in Amelia and speak so passionately and generously about his current work protecting Africa’s ancient rock art. (And boogie so hard at La Laconda to all the best of Italian techno-pop/Abba.)

I most warmly felt the support of ARCA as a whole during and after my presentation on Sunday morning. At any other conference, I might have been challenged or confronted on aspects of my research during the question and answer session. But at the ARCA conference, Aaron and I both had only the most benevolent support and a number of very friendly queries about our presentations. I had only one archaeologist challenge me on the difference between looting, commercial salvaging, and treasure hunting, and that was very productively resolved through good-natured explanation and discussion. Afterward, I was approached and congratulated by many of the most interesting, generous, and influential individuals in this field, all of whom were simply excited to see fresh faces studying these issues and to speak as equals about their own work. The whole experience was an exercise in keeping my cool as these people whose books I had read (or whom I had read about in books) congratulated me on my work and gave me their card to keep in touch. Or encouraged me to do my PhD in Australia. Or asked me to send along my thesis for a read. Heady stuff for the new kid.

After the conference had officially ended and a handful of us were enjoying drinks during the Italy vs. England game, it was somehow unanimously decided that just a weekend in Italy is not enough (it really isn’t) and that I should stay to audit the criminology session of the Masters Certificate course, especially considering I will be pursuing a Master of Research in Criminology this fall. It had been only two days of sitting in the same sweaty room listening to the same amazing speakers, and already we had sized each other up as pretty cool and were ready to keep learning together. Although it ended up being too expensive to change plane tickets, it was astounding to have such an opportunity arise at the last minute and to have new friends eagerly inviting me to crash on the empty bed they had wherever they were living.

In the summer between my undergraduate graduation and the beginning of my graduate work, I could not have asked for a warmer, more exciting welcome into the academic community of art crime. Students, take note: ARCA is looking for your passion and excitement about these issues so they can help introduce you to all the right people to make your dream career a reality. You couldn’t ask for a greater group of people with whom to begin and sustain your lifelong work.

Meg Lambert writes about the illicit antiquities trade and other cultural heritage issues at www.thingsyoucanttakeback.com and will be pursuing her MRes in Criminology at the University of Glasgow this fall.

Meg Lambert in Amelia (Photo by Alesia Koush)

by Meg Lambert

A couple weeks ago I returned home from Amelia, Italy, where I presented in the early career panel at the fourth annual ARCA conference. All the typical things you might expect about attending a conference in late June in a beautiful Umbrian hillside town are true: the scenery was fantastic, the food was glorious, and the unparalleled espresso gave me heart palpitations. But in the weeks since I’ve come home, I have gained yet more appreciation for what I believe might be ARCA’s best kept (or least publicized) secret: ARCA has a particularly excited place in its heart for young students just finding their way into the field of art crime, and they support student work in a way few other organizations do. 

We already know that ARCA is making tremendous strides for education in art crime through the Postgraduate Certificate that is offered every year. However, it is in the small actions and words of ARCA directors and members that this support and excitement is most evident. I was lucky enough to experience this firsthand last weekend, when I traveled from Massachusetts to Italy (just for the weekend, never again) to give my first major presentation on my work to a room full of distinguished scholars and professionals in this field. One fourth of my way through the Friday night cocktails that kicked off the conference, I was fairly star struck from meeting so many influential and passionate people and having such earnest conversations with them. Never once did I feel like “just a student”. At any other conference, where academic hierarchy and competition determines your relationships with elder and younger colleagues alike, I might have had a much harder time finding my place as a newcomer. But at ARCA, there was only a great deal of excitement and anticipation for what my co-panelist, Aaron Haines, and I would bring to the bigger conversation of the conference as a whole. At every step of the way, we, and our significant number of under-30s peers, were treated as equals in the collective struggle to understand and address art crime.

This was true even during the many humbling times I realized just how new I still am in this field after three years of study. (Jason Felch, writer of Chasing Aphrodite, mentioned a few times how he considers himself a rookie after having been immersed in it for seven years.) For example, I shared the taxi from the train station to Amelia with George Abungu, a veritable giant in this field and this year’s recipient of the ARCA Lifetime Achievement Award. But since Dr. Abungu’s description of his work on our cab ride consisted solely of, “I’m an archaeologist, but these days I am doing mostly cultural heritage management”, I had no idea that he was so influential until his work was described during the awards. When I mentioned this to someone, probably Derek Fincham, he responded in a kind of excited, “I know, right?!” demeanor. No unpleasant surprise or haughty sniffing that I didn’t already know Dr. Abungu’s work. Just a shared excitement that George could be with us in Amelia and speak so passionately and generously about his current work protecting Africa’s ancient rock art. (And boogie so hard at La Laconda to all the best of Italian techno-pop/Abba.)

I most warmly felt the support of ARCA as a whole during and after my presentation on Sunday morning. At any other conference, I might have been challenged or confronted on aspects of my research during the question and answer session. But at the ARCA conference, Aaron and I both had only the most benevolent support and a number of very friendly queries about our presentations. I had only one archaeologist challenge me on the difference between looting, commercial salvaging, and treasure hunting, and that was very productively resolved through good-natured explanation and discussion. Afterward, I was approached and congratulated by many of the most interesting, generous, and influential individuals in this field, all of whom were simply excited to see fresh faces studying these issues and to speak as equals about their own work. The whole experience was an exercise in keeping my cool as these people whose books I had read (or whom I had read about in books) congratulated me on my work and gave me their card to keep in touch. Or encouraged me to do my PhD in Australia. Or asked me to send along my thesis for a read. Heady stuff for the new kid.

After the conference had officially ended and a handful of us were enjoying drinks during the Italy vs. England game, it was somehow unanimously decided that just a weekend in Italy is not enough (it really isn’t) and that I should stay to audit the criminology session of the Masters Certificate course, especially considering I will be pursuing a Master of Research in Criminology this fall. It had been only two days of sitting in the same sweaty room listening to the same amazing speakers, and already we had sized each other up as pretty cool and were ready to keep learning together. Although it ended up being too expensive to change plane tickets, it was astounding to have such an opportunity arise at the last minute and to have new friends eagerly inviting me to crash on the empty bed they had wherever they were living.

In the summer between my undergraduate graduation and the beginning of my graduate work, I could not have asked for a warmer, more exciting welcome into the academic community of art crime. Students, take note: ARCA is looking for your passion and excitement about these issues so they can help introduce you to all the right people to make your dream career a reality. You couldn’t ask for a greater group of people with whom to begin and sustain your lifelong work.

Meg Lambert writes about the illicit antiquities trade and other cultural heritage issues at www.thingsyoucanttakeback.com and will be pursuing her MRes in Criminology at the University of Glasgow this fall.

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Dr. Laura Rush Named ARCA's 2012 Writer in Residence

by Lynda Albertson, ARCA CEO

Each year, The Association for Research into Crimes against Art honors distinguished and emerging writers specializing in art crime and cultural heritage preservation, inviting them to Amelia, Italy as the Association's annual Writer in Residence.  Designed to promote critical and reflective writing and funded by ARCA supporters, The Amelia Writer in Residence Program reflects ARCA's belief that the basis for any critical and comprehensive writing involves the opportunity for contemplation, research, collaboration and support.

By hosting writers in residence, ARCA strives to create an intellectually stimulating home base for an author's literary and research activities. Throughout this residence, the writer spends most of his or her time working on a literary project but also contributes to the intellectual community of ARCA's postgraduate certificate program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection.  By sharing their scholarship and professional experiences, their presence and contribution has meaningful impact on this specialized didactic program.

The Writer-in-Residence is chosen from candidates proposed by a Nominations Subcommittee, whose members have been selected by ARCA trustees and faculty. The Nominations Subcommittee proposes candidates whose work and character are known to them and selection is made by group consensus predicated on a writer's professional standing in his or her field of specialization.  Heavy emphasis is placed on projects that promote and foster interdisciplinary cooperation in art protection and recovery. While in Italy authors are asked to contribute keynote lectures or to present at ARCA's Annual Art Crime conference enriching the dialogue by speaking about their manuscript project or a topic of mutual professional interest to scholars and students in

attendance.

For 2012 ARCA is pleased to announce that our third annual Writer-in-Residence will be Dr. Laurie Rush.

Dr. Laurie Rush has a BA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, Summa Cum Laude, and an MA and PhD from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where she was a fellow of the University and of the National Science Foundation.

Teams working with Dr. Rush have discovered over one hundred fifty Native American archeological sites on Fort Drum including one dating back over 10,000 years and another documenting earliest French contact in the region.  Her research on the possibility for paleo-maritime culture in the Great Lakes has been recognized by eminent archaeologists as having potential for better understanding of the peopling of the Americas.  As part of her Fort Drum responsibilities Dr. Rush also established consultation partnerships between the installation and three Haudenosaunee Nations, the Oneida Indian Nation, the Onondaga Nation, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Dr. Rush was the Booth Family Rome Prize winner for 2010-2011 in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome.  She is also winner of numerous military and collegial awards including the 2007 Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation, the 2009 Register of Professional Archaeologists Distinguished Service to the Field, and in 2007 and 2009 Manager of the Best Cultural Resources Program and Team in the US Department of Defense. Dr. Rush also recently served on the American Anthropology Association Ad Hoc Commission on the Ethics of Engaging with the Security and Intelligence Communities.

In 2009, Major General Oates requested that Dr. Rush serve as the military liaison for the successful return of the Ancient City of Ur to Iraqi stewardship, and in 2010, Dr. Rush traveled to Kabul with Central Command personnel to participate in Environmental Shuras and to meet with the Director General of Heritage for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and US State Department officials on behalf of establishing increased awareness and military partnership for preservation projects in Kabul and Mes Aynak. This participation resulted in allocation of over one million dollars by the US Army Corps of Engineers to support artifact conservation at the ancient Buddhist City of Mes Aynek.

As the Director of the In Theater Heritage Training Program for Deploying Personnel, Dr. Rush helped to establish a partnership between the Archaeology Institute of America and the Department of Defense.  This project, funded by the OSD Legacy Resource Management Program and implemented in cooperation with Colorado State University, produced archaeology awareness playing cards for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt; Soldier pocket cards in multiple languages; replica archaeological sites for military training; educational presentations for military personnel; Central Command regulations for protection of cultural property, detailed archaeology maps for Iraq and Afghanistan, heritage reference websites for military personnel, and archaeology construction checklists for military engineers.  These accomplishments helped to build the US Combat Command Historical Cultural Action Group that is now working at the global level toward improved archaeology mapping for military planning and establishing military guidelines for stability operations in archaeologically sensitive areas.  She is also a founding member of the International Military Cultural Resources Working Group that participated in the recent cultural property inspections in Libya.

  

Dr. Rush is editor of the recently released volume, Archaeology, Cultural Property, and the Military and has an article forthcoming in the journal Military Review that focuses on lessons today's US personnel can learn from the accomplishments of the Monuments Officers of World War II.

We hope the ARCA community will embrace and support Dr Rush as this year's invited Writer in Residence.

by Lynda Albertson, ARCA CEO

Each year, The Association for Research into Crimes against Art honors distinguished and emerging writers specializing in art crime and cultural heritage preservation, inviting them to Amelia, Italy as the Association's annual Writer in Residence.  Designed to promote critical and reflective writing and funded by ARCA supporters, The Amelia Writer in Residence Program reflects ARCA's belief that the basis for any critical and comprehensive writing involves the opportunity for contemplation, research, collaboration and support.

By hosting writers in residence, ARCA strives to create an intellectually stimulating home base for an author's literary and research activities. Throughout this residence, the writer spends most of his or her time working on a literary project but also contributes to the intellectual community of ARCA's postgraduate certificate program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection.  By sharing their scholarship and professional experiences, their presence and contribution has meaningful impact on this specialized didactic program.

The Writer-in-Residence is chosen from candidates proposed by a Nominations Subcommittee, whose members have been selected by ARCA trustees and faculty. The Nominations Subcommittee proposes candidates whose work and character are known to them and selection is made by group consensus predicated on a writer's professional standing in his or her field of specialization.  Heavy emphasis is placed on projects that promote and foster interdisciplinary cooperation in art protection and recovery. While in Italy authors are asked to contribute keynote lectures or to present at ARCA's Annual Art Crime conference enriching the dialogue by speaking about their manuscript project or a topic of mutual professional interest to scholars and students in

attendance.

For 2012 ARCA is pleased to announce that our third annual Writer-in-Residence will be Dr. Laurie Rush.

Dr. Laurie Rush has a BA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, Summa Cum Laude, and an MA and PhD from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where she was a fellow of the University and of the National Science Foundation.

Teams working with Dr. Rush have discovered over one hundred fifty Native American archeological sites on Fort Drum including one dating back over 10,000 years and another documenting earliest French contact in the region.  Her research on the possibility for paleo-maritime culture in the Great Lakes has been recognized by eminent archaeologists as having potential for better understanding of the peopling of the Americas.  As part of her Fort Drum responsibilities Dr. Rush also established consultation partnerships between the installation and three Haudenosaunee Nations, the Oneida Indian Nation, the Onondaga Nation, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Dr. Rush was the Booth Family Rome Prize winner for 2010-2011 in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome.  She is also winner of numerous military and collegial awards including the 2007 Chairman's Award for Federal Achievement in Historic Preservation, the 2009 Register of Professional Archaeologists Distinguished Service to the Field, and in 2007 and 2009 Manager of the Best Cultural Resources Program and Team in the US Department of Defense. Dr. Rush also recently served on the American Anthropology Association Ad Hoc Commission on the Ethics of Engaging with the Security and Intelligence Communities.

In 2009, Major General Oates requested that Dr. Rush serve as the military liaison for the successful return of the Ancient City of Ur to Iraqi stewardship, and in 2010, Dr. Rush traveled to Kabul with Central Command personnel to participate in Environmental Shuras and to meet with the Director General of Heritage for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and US State Department officials on behalf of establishing increased awareness and military partnership for preservation projects in Kabul and Mes Aynak. This participation resulted in allocation of over one million dollars by the US Army Corps of Engineers to support artifact conservation at the ancient Buddhist City of Mes Aynek.

As the Director of the In Theater Heritage Training Program for Deploying Personnel, Dr. Rush helped to establish a partnership between the Archaeology Institute of America and the Department of Defense.  This project, funded by the OSD Legacy Resource Management Program and implemented in cooperation with Colorado State University, produced archaeology awareness playing cards for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt; Soldier pocket cards in multiple languages; replica archaeological sites for military training; educational presentations for military personnel; Central Command regulations for protection of cultural property, detailed archaeology maps for Iraq and Afghanistan, heritage reference websites for military personnel, and archaeology construction checklists for military engineers.  These accomplishments helped to build the US Combat Command Historical Cultural Action Group that is now working at the global level toward improved archaeology mapping for military planning and establishing military guidelines for stability operations in archaeologically sensitive areas.  She is also a founding member of the International Military Cultural Resources Working Group that participated in the recent cultural property inspections in Libya.

  

Dr. Rush is editor of the recently released volume, Archaeology, Cultural Property, and the Military and has an article forthcoming in the journal Military Review that focuses on lessons today's US personnel can learn from the accomplishments of the Monuments Officers of World War II.

We hope the ARCA community will embrace and support Dr Rush as this year's invited Writer in Residence.

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