Lost Masterpieces

Get full access to The Daily Beast for $1

SUBSCRIBE

Lost Masterpieces

Salvador Dalí's lost painting, called Vecchio Sultano, which was supposed to be part of the painter's 1966 The Arabian Nights collection, has been sold at auction for a little over $60K.
SALE OF A LIFETIME

Lost Salvador Dalí Art Bought for $200 Sells for Huge Amount

“It was just extraordinary,” the original buyer said of the sale.

Georgina DiNardo

Titian’s The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
MA$TERPIECE

Stolen Titian Found at Bus Stop Sells for $22 million

The work's dramatic history includes being looted by Napoleon.

Owen Lavine

190927-McNearney-gold-toilet-tease_mfnfut
LUXURY LOO

The Gold Toilet Stolen From Churchill’s Childhood Palace

Prankster artist Maurizio Cattelan installed his famous solid-gold potty in a British palace—and then it vanished. Performance art ... or brazen heist?

Allison McNearney

190705-lost-masterpieces-crystal-palace-tease_n938mh
Lost Masterpieces

The Crystal Palace Stunned NYC—Until It Burned Down

It was loosely based on the London structure of the same name, and was built, stunningly, of cast-iron and glass. But disaster would rob NYC of a building that never became iconic.

Allison McNearney

190614-mcnearney-Sir-Richard-Francis-Burton-tease_ywmuu7
Lost Masterpieces

His Magnum Opus Was an Arabic Sex Guide. His Wife Burned It.

Sir Richard Francis Burton’s wife Isabel feared ‘The Scented Garden’ would not be read in the ‘spirit of science,’ but ‘for filth's sake.’ Her fiery solution brought more scandal.

Allison McNearney

190120-nadeau-lost-masterpiece-picasso-tease_evifpj
Lost Masterpieces

She Hunted a Stolen Picasso—and Got Hoaxed

How a Romanian writer hot on the trail of seven stolen paintings found herself at the center of an elaborate prank.

Barbie Latza Nadeau

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

101103-McNearney-lord-byron-lede_dr8wjk
Lost Masterpieces

The Burning of Lord Byron’s Salacious Memoirs

Were the revelations in Lord Byron's memoirs so scandalous that his closest friends decided to burn them, rather than risk the damage to his—and his loved ones—reputations?

Allison McNearney

170917-irving-picasso-orwell-hero-1_q5qk0y
Profiles in Courage

When Picasso and Orwell Went After Tyrants and Risked It All

The two geniuses exposed the real face of totalitarianism. Both did so by producing masterpieces — and paid a price. We need to be reminded why.

AD BY THE DAILY BEAST

170702-mcnearney-cezanne-lost-masterpiece-hero_gnmzec
Lost Masterpieces

The Perfect Art Heist For a New Millennium

As the world celebrated the dawn of a new millennium in 2000, a thief broke into Oxford's Ashmolean Museum and stole a Cézanne painting. It, and the thief, have never been found.

AD BY THE DAILY BEAST

170625-mcnearney-charles-schwab-mansion-hero_tw8ncd
Living In Style

The Life and Death of a Manhattan Mega-Mansion

Before Gracie Mansion, Charles Schwab's massive, 50,000 square feet Riverside Drive abode was set to become the official residence of New York City's mayors.

AD BY THE DAILY BEAST

170616-McNearney-lost-masterpiece-diamond-necklace-tease_hmda8h
Lost Masterpieces

The Necklace That Cost Marie Antoinette Her Head

The diamond necklace had 647 diamonds, and after it went missing Marie Antoinette was accused of buying but not paying for it. And this French royal scandal only got juicier.

Allison McNearney

ADVERTISEMENT

GET THE APP
Subscribe
Log In
Newsletters
Podcasts
AboutContactTipsJobsAdvertiseHelpCode of Ethics & StandardsInclusionTerms & ConditionsCopyright & TrademarkPrivacy

© 2026 The Daily Beast Company LLC