John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York
ART 230:
Issues in Art and Crime
Professor Erin Thompson
ethompson@jjay.cuny.edu
Fake Jean-Michel Basquiat, displayed at Orlando Museum of Art in 2022.
Course Description: This fully online course will cover major current and historic issues
dealing with art and crime, focusing on five main topics: theft, repatriation (including issues of
national ownership and cultural property), vandalism and restoration, fakes and forgeries, and the
role of artists in criminal investigations. Students will critically assess the issues facing artists,
collectors, museums, and nations in reducing crime and conserving the artistic heritage of
everyone, today and in the future, as well as consider who controls art and how it is displayed
and protected.
Learning Goals: Flexible Core
1. Gather, interpret, and assess information from a variety of sources, including writings
by artists, art professionals, and criminals, scholarly sources, and your own
observations.
2. Evaluate evidence and arguments analytically to assess points of view on
controversies in art and crime.
3. Produce well-reasoned arguments about specific controversies and problems in art
and crime.
Assessment Tools and Grade Percentages:
Discussion Board Posts: 45%
Assignments: 45%
Discussion Board Comments: 10%
Course Content: All assigned readings, podcasts, and videos for the course are posted on
Blackboard, with the exception of two documentaries, which I will ask you to rent online
(around $5 each).
Technology Expectations: Check your CUNY email daily to avoid missing important
communications about the course. All your coursework will be assigned and submitted in an
online; thus, to successfully complete the course, you must have access, either on your personal
computer or in a CUNY computer lab, to these technology tools:
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Desktop or Laptop computer
Internet connection
Text Editor (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs)
Audio/Video Player
Digital Camera (including one on your phone)
Your browser must have JavaScript enabled for you to access your courses properly. Note:
Blackboard works best with the Firefox browser. To make sure your browser and computer
settings are supported for Blackboard, click here to run a browser check. If your course uses
multimedia content, we recommend that you disable pop-up blockers in any browser that you are
using as this can interfere with accessing the podcasts and videos. For guidelines on how to do
that, in Firefox please see this page. For how to disable popups in Google Chrome, MS Internet
Explorer or Edge and Apple Safari please visit this page.
For technological help, click on the “Help for Blackboard/Technical” link on the main course
menu or visit John Jay’s Blackboard Help Page for information on how to obtain Blackboard
help in person or over the phone. Please use these resources before contacting me; if your
technical issue is due to your computer or a general Blackboard error, it’s unlikely that I can help
you.
Contacting Me: As a student in an online-only course, you have a special responsibility to work
on creating a relationship with me so that I can advise you about career plans, internships, letters
of recommendation, networking, and so on. I encourage you to take full advantage of the
following opportunities to contact me:
- You can email me at EThompson@jjay.cuny.edu. Here are some tips for making our
email exchanges more efficient:
o Use your CUNY email account to send me email (since email from a personal email
address may be blocked by my spam filters).
o Include a subject line with your first and last name, course, and an indication of
what your email is about. For example: “Firstname Lastname, Art and Crime,
Question about Unit 4 Discussion.”
o I will generally reply to your email within 48 hours. If I don’t, email me again.
- If you would like to talk via phone, Zoom, or in person, email me and we’ll figure out a
good time.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Unit
Unit 1
Introduction: Why
Art Crime Matters
Readings and Videos
Reading: The Black Market for Art
Reading: Anything Can Break Bad: An FBI
Special Agent Has Learned the Difference
Between the Art World and the Mafia
Reading: Has the Art Market Become an
Unwitting Partner in Crime?
Reading: Cultural Racketeering
Reading: New York’s 1%: Are They
Supporting Crime and Terrorism?
Tasks
- Read the entire
syllabus and contact me
with any questions or
scheduling difficulties
Due Date for
Tasks
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
September 10
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Video: ISIS: Disappointing Capitalist
Sellouts
Unit 2
Art Theft: Case
Studies
Reading: Theft of $300,000 Rodin at
Danish Museum
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
Reading: What Is the Value of Stolen Art
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
Reading: The Secrets of the World’s
Greatest Art Thief
Reading: The Dead Zoo Gang
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
September 17
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: The Untold Story of the “Transy
Book Heist”
Unit 3
Art Theft:
Investigation and
Recovery
Reading: Is Looting-to-Order “Just a
Myth”? Open-Source Analysis of Theft-toOrder of Cultural Property
Reading and Video: FBI Art Theft Program
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
Reading: Priceless: How I Went
Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen
Treasures (excerpts on Blackboard or, if
you wish, purchase entire book)
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
Video: The Real-Life Indiana Jones
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
September 24
Listening: For Italy’s Art Police, An
Ongoing Fight Against Pillage Of Priceless
Works
Reading: What Happens to Stolen Art After
a Heist
Reading: How Not to Sell Stolen Art
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Unit 4
Art Vandalism
Reading: Tracking Stolen Art, for Profit,
and Blurring a Few Lines
Reading: Destruction of Art
Reading: ISIS Destruction of Ancient Sites
Hits Mostly Muslim Targets
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
October 1
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
Reading: Hans-Joachim Bohlmann
Reading: Disputed Madonna Painting In
Brooklyn Show Is Defaced
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Man Is Arraigned in Defacing of
Painting
Reading: Retiree Vandalizes Artwork, then
Claims Copyright
Reading: All the Times People Have Shot,
Puked Upon, and Meat-Cleavered Famous
Paintings to Make a Point
Reading: What Happens If You Break an
Artwork?
Reading: After Repairs, a Picasso Returns
Unit 5
Art Security
Reading: Museums, Libraries and Archives
Security Manual (excerpts on Blackboard
from a longer document)
Reading: Remembering the Day the Library
Burned
Reading: Is Museum Security Robust
Enough to Counter Crime and Terrorism?
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
October 8
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Security Alarms May Not be as
Reliable as State-of-the-Art Systems
Reading: Need Talent to Exhibit in
Museums? Not This Prankster
Reading: Museum Guards on Life Beyond
the Galleries
Optional Reading: Church Theft, Insecurity,
and Community Justice: The Reality of
Source-End Regulation of the Market for
Illicit Bolivian Cultural Objects
Unit 6
Optional Video: Myths of Art Thefts and
Art Theft Investigations
Reading: The Forged ‘Ancient’ Statues That
Fooled the Met’s Art Experts for
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
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Art Forgery: Case
Studies
Decades
Reading: How Master Craftsmen are
Forging Khmer Antiquities
Reading: Dutch Master: The Art Forger
Who Became a National Hero
October 15
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Forged Provenance
Reading: The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus’s
Wife
Reading: History of Modern Man Unravels
as German Scholar is Exposed as Fraud
Reading: Watch the Throne: Why Artist
Thierry Oussou Faked an
Archaeological Dig
Reading: Persian Mummy
Reading: ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ at the Museum
of the Bible are All Forgeries
Optional Reading: Faking History: How
Provenance Forgery Is Conning the Art
World
Unit 7
Art Forgery:
Investigation and
Prosecution
Optional Reading: Fakers and Forgers,
Deception and Dishonesty: An Exploration
of the Murky World of Art Fraud
Video: Art and Craft (rent streaming video
here)
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
Reading: Provenance (view with John Jay
login)
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
Reading: Growth in Online Art Market
Brings More Fraud
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
October 22
Reading: Testing Objects: Scientific
Examination and Materials Analysis in
Authenticity Studies
Reading: How Cat Hair Brought Down a
Pair of Art Forgers
Reading: The Mark of a Masterpiece
Reading: What Happens to Confiscated Art
‘Fakes’?
Optional Reading: The Veracity of
“Scientific” Testing by Conservators
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Optional Reading: Peter Doig Says He
Didn’t Paint This. Now He Has to Prove It
Unit 8
Antiquities
Looting: Case
Studies
Optional Reading: Fakes and Deception:
Examining Fraud in the Art Market
Reading: How Tomb Raiders Are Stealing
Our History
Reading: The Idol Thief: Inside One of the
Biggest Antiquities-Smuggling Rings in
History
Reading: The Ethics of Archaeology,
Subsistence Digging, and Artifact Looting
in Latin America: Muted Counterpoint
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
October 29
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Den of Antiquity
Listening: ‘Chasing Aphrodite’ And Other
Dirty Art World Deals
Reading: How a California Anesthesiologist
Became One of America’s Largest
Antiquities Looters
Reading: “But We Didn’t Steal It:”
Collectors’ Justifications for Purchasing
Looted Antiquities
Reading: The Scandal over Hobby Lobby’s
Purchase of 5,500 Smuggled Artifacts,
Explained
Reading: Tomb Robbing, Perilous but
Alluring, Makes Comeback in China
Reading: Blood & Gold: Children Dying as
Egypt’s Treasures Are Looted
Reading: African Art Needs to Come Home
Reading: Bringing Our Gods Home
Optional Browsing: EAMENA
Optional Reading: Material Consequences
of Contemporary Classical Collecting (with
John Jay login)
Optional Reading: Human Skulls Are Being
Sold Online, But Is It Legal?
Optional Reading: The Illegal Excavation
and Trade of Syrian Cultural Objects
Optional Reading: Lure of the Relic
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Optional Reading: Looters or Heroes?
Production of Illegality and Memories of
‘Looting’ in Mali
Optional Reading: The Chinese Want Their
Art Back
Optional Reading: Virtues Impracticable
and Extremely Difficult: The Human Rights
of Subsistence Diggers
Unit 9
Antiquities
Looting:
Prevention,
Investigation,
Repatriation
Optional Reading: Temple Looting in
Cambodia: Anatomy of a Statue Trafficking
Network
Reading: Journeys to Complete the Work
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
Listening: Bears, Birds, and Bones
Reading: The Case of the Missing Feet:
Antiquities and Terrorism in Cambodia
Reading: When Is It Okay to Dig Up the
Dead?
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
November 5
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Museum-Goers Beware - That
Ancient Artifact May Be Stolen
Reading: How to Control the Internet
Market in Antiquities? The Need for
Regulation and Monitoring
Optional Reading: Repatriation: A
Pawnee’s Perspective
Optional Reading: The Illicit Antiquities
Trade as Transnational Criminal Network
Optional Reading: Perspectives on the
Organisation and Control of the Illicit
Traffic in Antiquities in South East Asia
Optional Reading: Reality and Practicality:
Challenges to Effective Cultural Property
Policy on the Ground in Latin America
Unit 10
Art and War: Case
Studies
Optional Reading: Studying the Human
Remains Trade with Tensorflow and
Inception
Reading: The Conflict Antiquities Trade: A
Historical Overview
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
Video: Nazi Looting: Egon Schiele’s
Portrait of Wally
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
November 12
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Video: The Rape of Europa (on reserve in
the John Jay Library or rent streaming video
here)
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Thieves of Baghdad: The Global
Traffic in Stolen Iraqi Antiquities
Reading: Syria at the Crossroads of Security
and Culture
Video: Drone Images Show Ancient City of
Aleppo in Ruins from War
Reading: Ancient Mummies Rot as Yemen
War Vexes Even the Dead
Optional Reading: Saving Lives or Saving
Stones
Optional Reading: The Evolving Role of
Cultural Property in Political and Armed
Conflict
Optional Reading: Ethnic Cleansing, War
Crimes and the Destruction of Cultural
Heritage: Not Syria, but Bosnia Twenty
Years Ago
Unit 11
Art and War:
Prevention,
Investigation,
Repatriation
Optional Reading: Report on Damage
Assessments in Babylon
Reading: US Army Manual for Protection
of Cultural Property (excerpt posted on
Blackboard)
Reading: Safeguarding Museums During
Conflict
Reading: The Men Saving Syria’s Treasures
from Isis
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
November 19
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: The Hague Convicts a TombDestroying Extremist with Smart Design
Reading: 'Badass Librarians' Foil al Qaeda,
Save Ancient Manuscripts
Reading: Does My Family Own a Painting
Looted by Nazis?
Reading: Does Returning Artefacts Help to
Heal the Scars of Conquest?
Optional Browsing: ICC Digital Platform:
Timbuktu, Mali
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Optional Reading: GAO Report: Protection
of Iraqi and Syrian Antiquities
Unit 12
Criminal Artists
Optional Reading: Using Open-Source Data
to Identify Participation in the Illicit
Antiquities Trade: A Case Study on the
Cypriot Civil War
Video: MUTO: A Wall-Painted Animation
by BLU
Reading: Combatting Graffiti
Reading: Artworld Roundtable: 5Pointz
Lawsuit
Reading: What We Can Learn from Art
Painted Inside Guantánamo
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
December 3
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Reading: Art Censorship at Guantánamo
Bay
Reading: J.S.G. Boggs, Artist, Dies at 62;
He Made Money. Literally
Unit 13
Monuments
Reading: Artist Who Furtively
Photographed His Neighbors Wins in Court,
Again
Reading: TO COME
- Post on this unit’s
discussion board
11:59 p.m.,
Sunday,
December 10
- Complete this unit’s
assignment
- Comment on the
unit’s discussion board
posts
Final Deadline for
all work
- Complete any missing
work for partial credit
11:59 p.m.,
December 20
Discussion Board Posts and Assignments
Your first steps for each week should be reading, watching, or listening to the assigned content
for the unit. Then, click on the links within the unit folders for detailed instructions and grading
rubrics on how to complete each discussion board post and assignment.
Due Dates: All the content, discussion board posts, and assignments for the course are available
from the beginning of the semester. You can complete your work on any unit early (although you
will have to wait until enough other students have completed their work to make your required
comments). All discussion board posts and assignments must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on
December 20, 2023. After this time, they will be closed. You will not be able to access them, and
you will receive a grade of zero on any uncompleted discussion board post or assignment.
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Discussion Board Posts: You must post a reply to a discussion board prompt for each unit. For
the discussion prompt for each unit, instructions on how to respond to it, and the grading rubric,
click on the discussion board link within the unit folders.
Assignments: You must complete an assignment for each unit. For the assignment for each unit,
instructions on how to complete it, and the grading rubric, click on the assignment link within the
unit folders.
Comments: You must comment on other students’ discussion board posts. Comments will be
graded at the end of the semester. You will receive full credit if you have posted, on average, two
or more comments during each unit; your comments contain evidence of a thoughtful approach
taken to researching and writing the comment; and if each comment contains one or fewer errors
in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization, maintains a professional and appropriate tone, and is
submitted before the due date for that unit.
Policies
Grades: Grades are defined as follows.
A Indicates EXCELLENCE in all aspects;
B is considered GOOD, above average;
C is considered FAIR, satisfactory, average;
D is considered POOR, below average;
F is FAILING, unacceptable work.
INC: Incomplete Grade requests are granted in extreme, documented circumstances only,
and only to students who would pass the course if they were to satisfactorily complete all
outstanding course requirements. All incomplete materials must be submitted within 30
days of the end of the semester.
Extra Credit: There is no obligation on the part of your instructor to offer extra credit
work. The term “extra credit work” refers to optional work that may be assigned by the
instructor to all students in addition to the required work for the course that all students
must complete.
Online Etiquette and Anti-Harassment Policy: The University strictly prohibits the use of
University online resources or facilities, including Blackboard, for the purpose of harassment of
any individual or for the posting of any material that is scandalous, libelous, offensive or
otherwise against the University’s policies. Any member of the CUNY online community who
has experienced incidents of harassment is encouraged to report the complaint. This University
considers violations of this online etiquette policy to be a serious offense. Anyone found to have
used the University’s online services in violation of this policy is subject to punishment,
including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. As noted above, serious offenses may lead
to criminal and/or civil liability.
Students will be expected to act in a professional manner throughout their courses. This includes
successfully negotiating and managing their coursework and participation, and engaging with
other course members such that the nature of their interactions follow appropriate guidelines for
“netiquette.”
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Choose your words carefully. Online communication doesn’t contain the verbal and
interpersonal cues we rely on to discern meaning when talking to someone in person. Without
these cues, sarcasm, irony, or humor may not come across to your reader. For example, you may
intend something as a joke. However, your reader may not understand that, so it’s best to avoid
unclear language.
Write completely and scholarly. Your writing in an online course should be professional. Use
proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. U for you, LOL,
and TTYL are but not appropriate for online classes. Proofread your writing before hitting
submit or send. This applies to any communication in an online class, including but not limited
to email and discussion boards.
Communicating in an online course can seem impersonal or anonymous. Remember that there
are other people involved. Avoid responding to posts in the heat of the moment. Give yourself
some time to process what you’ve read, then respond. You’ll find that your responses are more
respectful that way, even if you’re disagreeing with someone.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: Plagiarism will not be tolerated and may lead to failure of
the course. Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words, or artistic, scientific, or
technical work as one’s own creation. This includes using materials from another student in the
course or from an online content generator like Chat GPT. Using the ideas or work of another is
permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as
direct quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or
unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility
for plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to recognize the difference between statements
that are common knowledge (which do not require documentation) and restatements of the ideas
of others. Paraphrase, summary, and direct quotation are acceptable forms of restatement, as long
as the source is cited. Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are
advised to consult with their instructors. The Library has free guides designed to help students
with problems of documentation. Any examination or assignment with plagiarized material will
earn a grade of “F.” For more information, see John Jay's Academic Integrity page.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy:
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides for equal opportunity to persons with
disabilities. For help, contact the Office of Accessibility Services:
https://new.jjay.cuny.edu/student-life/wellness/accessibility-services
Counseling Services:
The Wellness Center is here to provide you with a complete, free, confidential range of
counseling services in New Building L.68.00 (212-237-8111):
http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/counseling; Counseling@jjay.cuny.edu
Military and Veteran Services:
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Military personnel and veterans can find resources at the Military and Veterans Services office,
Haaren Hall 229 (212-484-1329): http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/military-and-veteran-services;
johnjayveterans@jjay.cuny.edu
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