This is a wonderful, thoughtful, well-written, and researched book that chronicles some of the lost art of the world. Included is the Colossus of Rhodes, the zodiac water clock at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, China, the work of art by Alexander Calder titled Bent Propeller, previously destroyed at the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, NY, paintings stolen from the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA, the sacking of Rome in 1527, and the ISIS intentional destruction of the National Museum in Baghdad in 2003.

Highly recommended if you are someone who appreciates art.

Fascinating insight into the history of lost art. Covers not only paintings and sculptures, but also things like ancient historical sites. If you have even a passing interest in art, or history, or both, it's well worth your time. ( )

Noah Charney’s The Museum of Lost Art is a heavily researched yet entertaining meditation upon the many ways works of art can suffer destruction and go missing (and sometimes be found again). The book is divided into chapters that discuss the various misfortunes that over many centuries have befallen works of art: some caused by man (War, Theft, Iconoclasm & Vandalism), others caused by nature (Accident, Acts of God). Within each chapter, Charney briefly describes specific cases of deliberate and accidental destruction and loss. Charney’s thesis in this book is that our understanding of the history of art is slanted because of missing links in the chain. Predictably enough, scholars have allowed their conclusions to be swayed by the works that are available to be examined, when sometimes a reasonable case can be made that, where an artist’s reputation or a specific artistic practice is concerned, a work (or works) that no longer exists has had far more impact, but its influence is downplayed or disregarded because it no longer exists or has been lost. The story of lost art is, of course, a fascinating one. Most of us have heard stories on the news of important works being stolen from galleries, or unexpectedly recovered in some fortuitous manner. For example, in 1994, brazenly and in broad daylight, Edvard Munch’s The Scream was stolen from the National Art Museum in Oslo. But hundreds of years earlier, nobody had thought of securing valuable works of art in an institutional setting. Art was owned by royalty or wealthy patrons, and iconic works hung in private parlours and dining rooms with little thought being given to security. Works were routinely lost to theft and fire, or sunk at sea, or looted by invading armies. More tragic yet are works that have been lost or destroyed because of murderous prejudice or a clash of ideologies (ie, Nazi Germany and ISIS). Charney also discusses works that were lost in ancient times and have since been restored through the efforts of archeologists, works deliberately destroyed by the artist who created them, and temporal works, created with the intention that they would not last. The Museum of Lost Art is persuasive and succeeds in engaging the reader in its alternative view of art history. It is also lavishly and beautifully produced and illustrated. It is unfortunate therefore that the text is marred by an astounding number of typographical errors. ( )