Lost Art

Many assume that modern works of art are easily preserved; that their whereabouts can be readily established thanks to sophisticated documentation systems; and that in general they are not subject to loss or destruction. But many important works have disappeared over the last century in a variety of ways including war, theft, natural catastrophe and carelessness. Loss itself and elements of transience have also been major themes within modern and contemporary art.

Grouped into ten sections - Discarded, Missing, Rejected, Attacked, Destroyed, Erased, Ephemeral, Transient, Unrealised and Stolen - this unique survey includes forty case studies looking at the stories behind lost and destroyed works of art.