How to Return Stolen Art (Update)

Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)

SOURCES: •

Patricia Allan • , museum consultant, former curator of world cultures for the Glasgow Museums.

Andrea Bayer • , deputy director for collections and administration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Lonnie G. Bunch III • , Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Victor Ehikhamenor • , Nigerian writer and artist.

Patty Gerstenblith • , professor emeritus of law at DePaul University College of Law.

Tom Wilkening • , professor of economics at the University of Melbourne.

RESOURCES: •

• " After Seizures, the Met Sets a Plan to Scour Collections for Looted Art • ," by Robin Pogrebin and Graham Bowley ( The New York Times, • 2023).

• " Nigeria Benin Bronzes: Buhari Declaration 'Blindsides' Museum Officials • ," by Barnaby Phillips ( B.B.C., • 2023).

• " Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy • ," by the Smithsonian Ethical Returns Working Group (2022).

• " Protecting Antiquities: A Role for Long-Term Leases? • " by Michael Kremer and Tom Wilkening ( Working Paper, • 2015).

EXTRAS: •

• “ Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard • ,” series by Freakonomics Radio • (2023).

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