‘Worth zero’: why stolen Renoir paintings have little black market value

Two Renoir paintings stolen from a small French museum on September 8 have yet to be recovered, but if the thieves are hoping to cash in on the artwork, they will be hard-pressed to find a buyer. Selling well-known, stolen art is impossible to do at an auction house or through other public channels without raising eyebrows. Even under the table, the value plummets. And unlike other eye-catching artefacts such as jewels, paintings cannot be chopped up and sold for parts without losing their...