The museum may be sacred, but it isn't always safe. Some of the world's most valuable art has been stolen...and in some cases recovered...in recent years as art thieves find themselves wooed by increased market demand, open borders, improved transport systems and political instability.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorWed, 03 Dec 2008 22:09:01 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/28315/muted-by-thieves-scream-returns-at-full-volume.html?refid=rss_all_defaultEdvard Munch's masterpiece The Scream is hanging again in an Oslo museum today, 4 years after armed robbers stole it in broad daylight, CNN reports. The painting has been undergoing restoration since it was retrieved in 2006. It was structurally damaged, stained, scratched (exposing cardboard beneath the paint) and “considerably” dirtier, curators say, but “the artistic value … has not been reduced.”http://www.newser.com/story/28315/muted-by-thieves-scream-returns-at-full-volume.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 23 May 2008 15:15:19 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26231/sculpture-thieves-seek-scrap-metal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA wave of sculpture thefts has little to do with the pieces’ artistic merit: Police believe they’ve been stolen for their valuable copper content, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the past 18 months, three public artworks displayed in Brea, Calif., have disappeared—and the trend is appearing across the country, pushing some artists to consider dropping bronze as a medium.http://www.newser.com/story/26231/sculpture-thieves-seek-scrap-metal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 01 May 2008 11:29:11 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/19564/arts-nazis-stole-goes-on-exhibit.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAuthorities in France and Israel are attempting to return paintings seized by Nazis during World War II to families to whom they belong, and have organized an exhibit of 50 “orphaned” works in Israel to solicit rightful claims. The tranquil themes of many of the works in the exhibit, “Looking for Owners,” contrast sharply with their ownership histories, the Los Angeles Times reports.http://www.newser.com/story/19564/arts-nazis-stole-goes-on-exhibit.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Feb 2008 12:14:45 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/19417/stolen-art-found-in-parking-lot.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe four 19th-century paintings stolen from a Swiss museum have reportedly been found in an unlocked car parked outside a Zurich psychiatric hospital. Although police have not yet confirmed the find, Swiss media are reporting that the $168 million worth of loot—one work each by Cézanne, Degas, Monet, and van Gogh—has been recovered. The paintings were stolen by masked gunmen on February 10.http://www.newser.com/story/19417/stolen-art-found-in-parking-lot.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 19 Feb 2008 6:43:49 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/18756/160m-in-art-stolen-in-zurich.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA gang of armed art thieves absconded with four masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and Cezanne worth $160 million from a Zurich museum yesterday. The brazen daytime robbery follows a theft of two Picassos in Switzerland just two days earlier. The three masked thieves confronted a guard with guns, grabbed the paintings, and took off in a white vehicle, said authorities, who described the operation as a "spectacular" heist.http://www.newser.com/story/18756/160m-in-art-stolen-in-zurich.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 11 Feb 2008 7:40:14 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/18546/thieves-snag-2-picassos.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThieves stole two Picasso paintings that belong to a German museum from a Swiss art gallery where they had been on display, the Guardian reports. The pilfered works, Tete de Cheval and Verre et Pichet, were on loan from the Sprengel Museum. Combined, they're worth $4.5 million, AFP reports.http://www.newser.com/story/18546/thieves-snag-2-picassos.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 08 Feb 2008 11:12:45 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/17329/feds-raid-calif-museums-gallery-in-stolen-art-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFederal agents raided four California museums and a private gallery in a smuggling investigation into stolen foreign antiquities, reports the New York Times . The gallery allegedly imported looted goods from Thailand, Myanmar, and China, and individuals got inflated tax write-offs for donating them to museums. No charges have yet been filed in the case, which is being investigated by immigration, national park, and tax authorities.http://www.newser.com/story/17329/feds-raid-calif-museums-gallery-in-stolen-art-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 25 Jan 2008 6:25:32 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/15954/brazilian-cops-recover-stolen-picasso.html?refid=rss_all_defaultPolice in Brazil have recovered a Picasso painting stolen from a Sao Paulo museum last month and arrested two suspects yesterday. The Picasso, Portrait of Suzanne Bloch , and a painting by Brazilian Candido Portinari are valued at a combined $55 million. The thieves broke into the museum using a hydraulic jack and snatched both paintings in 3 minutes.http://www.newser.com/story/15954/brazilian-cops-recover-stolen-picasso.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 10 Jan 2008 13:32:26 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/14843/bangladesh-in-frenzied-search-for-stolen-art.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBangladesh has mounted a massive hunt for two priceless artifacts that went missing yesterday at the Dhaka airport, Reuters reports. The statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, sculpted 1,500 years ago, were on their way to an exhibition at a Paris museum. Bangladeshi authorities have detained 12 suspects and stopped the shipment to France while the investigation continues.http://www.newser.com/story/14843/bangladesh-in-frenzied-search-for-stolen-art.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 10 Jan 2008 13:28:01 CST