The Art Thief

By Noah Charney





I picked this book up on a whim while wandering through a bookstore and I'm glad I did. I love mysteries and novels that incorporate art history, and The Art Thief manages to do both very well. The book follows three seemingly unrelated art heists in Paris, Rome and London while exploring the varied and eccentric outlets of the art world: museums, private collections, auction houses, artistic societies, experts, wealthy collectors, thieves and forgers. There's also a bit of art history thrown in for good measure. Charney has a gift for explaining the cumulative nature of art and the reasons for the value placed on specific pieces in a way that a non-art lover could understand. 


Through the years I've read various "art history novels" and I have included a list of my favorites below: 


Girl With the Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier
The Birth of Venus, by Sara Dunant
In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sara Dunant
The Flanders Panel, Arturo Perez-Reverte
*The Gardner Heist, by Ulrich Boser 
This book is non-fiction, but recounts the events surrounding the largest unsolved art heist which occurred at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.