Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections or are known to have been destroyed deliberately or accidentally, or neglected through ignorance and lack of connoisseurship.

In some cases, such as the Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger (lost in a fire in 1698) many copies had been made, so we have a good idea of the work's appearance. Almost all portable stone sculptures from classical antiquity are later copies of pieces famous at the time, mostly from the Roman period.

Lost artworks

The US FBI maintains a list of "Top Ten Art Crimes"; a 2006 book by Simon Houpt and a 2018 book by Noah Charney and several other media outlets have profiled the most significant outstanding losses.

Lost artworks

Chronology of notable loss events

Rhodes earthquake, 226 BCE

First Mithridatic War

Sack of Athens, 1 March 86 BCE

Antikythera shipwreck, 86-50 BCE

Lauseion fire, 475

Nika riots, 13 January 532-

Byzantine Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm of Leo III, 726-741

Second Byzantine Iconoclasm, 814-842

Jin–Song Wars, 1125–1234

Jingkang Incident (Sack of Kaifeng), 10 January 1126-

Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204

Sack of Constantinople, 12–15 April 1204

Bonfires of the vanities, 1492–1497

Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 1492

Bonfire of the vanities, Florence, 7 February 1497

Palazzo Bentivoglio destruction, 1507

Iconoclastic Fury, 1522–1599

Beeldenstorm, 1566

"Stille beeldenstorm" of Antwerp, 1581

Doge's Palace fire, 1576

Russo-Swedish Deluge 1648-1667

Destruction of the Commonwealth

Bombardment of Brussels, 13–15 August 1695

Brussels Town Hall fire, 13–15 August 1695

Palace of Whitehall fire, 4 January 1698

André-Charles Boulle workshop fire, 30 August 1720

Coudenberg Palace fire, 3 February 1731

Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire, 24 December 1734

Kroměříž Palace fire, March 1752

Lisbon earthquake and tsunami, 1 November 1755

Ribeira Palace destruction

Vrouw Maria sinking, 9 October 1771

French Revolution, 1789–1799

Elgin Marbles removal, 1801–1805

Exton Old Park fire, 1810

Belvoir Castle fire, 1816

Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura fire, 1823

Burning of Parliament, 16 October 1834

Palais-Royal looting, 21–22 February 1848

Old Summer Palace destruction, 18–21 October 1861

Museum Boymans fire, 1864

Paris Commune, 18 March-28 May 1871

Hôtel de Ville fire, May 1871

Tuileries Palace fire, 23 May 1871

Holker Hall fire, 1871

Great Boston Fire of 1872

Bath House fire, 31 January 1873

Pantechnicon warehouse fire, London, 13–14 February 1874

Benin City sacking, 9 February 1897-

San Francisco Earthquake, April 18, 1906

Messina earthquake, 28 December 1908

Mona Lisa theft and vandalism, 21 August 1911

World War I, 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918

Russian Revolution and post-revolution losses, 1917-1920s

Treasures for Tractors, 1920s

Thames flood (Tate Gallery flood), 7 January 1928

Glaspalast fire, 6 June 1931

Nazi plunder, 1933–1945

Berlin Fire Department art burning, 20 March 1939

Lost artworks