The Top 10 Most Wanted Missing Art Works From World War II

The recent discovery of 20th-century art in Germany could be the tip of the iceberg

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When Germany’s Focus magazine revealed earlier this week that authorities had found a historic trove of missing 20th century European art suspected of being looted by the Nazis, it made headlines all over the world. For art sleuths searching for missing works, it was a sign that there is still a chance to uncover lost treasures.

One of the many legacies of the Third Reich is its purge of private art collections. Up to 200,000 art works are thought to have gone missing during the war, says Katya Hills, client development manager at the London-based Art Loss Register, the world’s largest database of lost and stolen art.

The organization is currently on the hunt for 30,000 items listed as looted or missing from this era.

Below is a list—compiled by the Art Loss Register—of the most valuable and famous artworks to have been lost or stolen during World War II. Hills hopes that some of the works may be among the over 1,400 items revealed to have been found in the latest Nazi art bust.