By Ash Beach, Special to the Journal
Everyone loves a true crime story, but Professor Caroline Covington is more interested in a true tale about art crime, as she invites students to take a step into the world of art crimes and heists during her upcoming Faculty Lecture titled “Art Heist” on February 25 from 12-1 p.m. in the Goins Auditorium or live-streamed. This lecture is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring friends!
Covington has been working not only in the art crime world but also has been teaching for 13 years. She has a B.A. in Art History, a B.F.A. in sculpture, and an M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Georgia. In addition to being a working artist, she teaches art history at Pellissippi State Community College and has given other faculty lectures before. Not only does she have experience in this field, but she also possesses a special interest in art heists.
One of Covington’s goals with the lecture is for students to find new ways to connect with art. When viewing art, there is a difference between seeing it in person versus on a phone screen; while a painting can be photographed, there is a different emotional impact that is felt when seeing a masterpiece in person.
Think of the difference between seeing a recording of a concert and seeing the concert in person. Both might get the message of the music across, yet the emotional impact is different. When seeing the concert in person, people experience not only the music but the way the music makes them feel, surrounded by others doing the same.
When art pieces are stolen, people lose access to that in-person experience, missing out on the potential for an emotional impact. When there is a loss of art, not only is there a loss of beauty, but a loss of accessibility to these pieces that should be available to everyone.
“I think we watch heist movies because they’re entertaining,” Covington said in a recent interview. “I think we kind of like the idea because there are actually documented cat burglars. There are people who jump from apartment building to apartment building, but ultimately, the outcome is the loss of something beautiful that you’re talking about for others to experience. So, what I’m hoping to connect is the idea that this art, which is on display for anyone to experience and to have a moment of reflection with, is now being stolen and potentially never surfacing again.”
When asked how she would like to see the art crimes world change to increase access for students, Covington replies, “Artifacts can, in the moment of chaos, be nabbed and stolen but then also there are a lot of stories of them being protected and saved by different individuals […] in these looted spaces, art becomes something that’s not a part of that turmoil and is saved in its own way.”
The loss of the art’s beauty is mourned by the public, but the crime itself creates a kind of artwork, a story to add to the history of the pieces taken. Professor Covington wants art to be accessible for students to view and connect with, but she also wants students to see and understand the history that makes a lot of these art pieces beautiful.
When discussing her inspiration for giving the upcoming lecture, Covington talked about the recent Louvre heist. The October ‘25 heist is well-known not only because it happened in under 10 minutes, but also because the robbers attempted to steal nine items, getting away with eight. They dropped Empress Eugénie’s crown, which had more than 2,000 diamonds on it, leaving it broken and permanently damaged. The heist was able to be pulled off because of the old cameras that were outside the museum, allowing the thieves to be able to enter through a second-floor window, going unnoticed.
Another notable heist the Louvre experienced was the theft of the Mona Lisa in August of 1911. Much like in 2025, the people were outraged at the lack of security measures the museum should have taken; the painting was only protected by an easily removable glass box. Initially, the Mona Lisa investigation centered around a young man who had previously stolen items from the museum but, as the investigation went on, it was revealed that the robber was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian man who had previously been employed at the Louvre.
Covington got the idea to give the lecture from a conversation with a student about the most recent Louvre heist and the continuation of art theft in Syria to this day. Notably, the lecture will walk through the orchestration of the largest art heist in history, the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, where $500 million worth of art was taken. Students will walk through the Gardner Museum heist and many other heists while learning what is truly lost when these pieces go missing.
By searching the FBI, Interpol, and the Guinness Book of World Records, Covington has retraced how the 13 artworks went missing in the Gardner Museum heist. She will also talk about which pieces have been returned and what it means for the countless art pieces that haven’t. The still empty picture frames that hang in the Gardner Museum today are reminders of the loss of beautiful pieces for future generations.
Covington wishes to connect students with art and bring them into a world where crime and art mix. By giving this lecture, she intends to provide an interactive experience where students can access the amazing true crime stories that make some pieces so special. Come and see the lecture and enjoy something new!
