While the United States may have better technical security in its museums than Europe does, it has had a fairly weak policing system in place to handle art theft. The FBI has been involved in only the most high-profile cases that fall under federal jurisdiction. U.S. law enforcement now seems to be taking art theft more seriously.

In reaction to the looting of antiquities in Iraq, the FBI created the United States’ first-ever, rapid art-theft response team, scheduled for official launch this spring. “Prior to the formation of this unit,” points out Special Agent Joe Paris III, “the United States was the only industrialized, art-consuming nation that did not have an art theft team.”

In Europe, Interpol promotes Object ID, a project that has established an international standard for describing art and art objects. International law enforcement, art dealers, museum curators, art appraisers and art insurance carriers collaborated to create a taxonomy of criteria to help identify stolen pieces effectively and certainly. Owners must take detailed measurements of their pieces, write down any inscriptions and markings, record the artist’s name, any damage or repairs, what the object is made of, its provenance and other details, until the piece is as vivid on paper as it is in reality. This information accompanies clear and copious photographic documentation. Paintings are even photographed front and back to note any identifying marks on the obverse of the canvas.

The only chance of identifying and recovering stolen art occurs as it finds its way out of the black market and into legitimate ones. In the case of the Munch paintings, only an especially dim-witted thief would allow them back in the public eye. But the databases have proved invaluable to the victims of theft of less recognizable pieces. Entries often appear with the word “recovered,” usually in red and in all caps, across entries. In these instances, a simple photograph has indeed been as priceless as the art itself.