The FBI’s Art Indiana Jones: Robert Wittman and the Recovery of Stolen Masterpieces

About this episode

This episode explores the career of FBI Special Agent Robert Wittman and his efforts in recovering stolen art and cultural property.

Three-Sentence Podcast Description In this episode, we examine the extraordinary career of FBI Special Agent Robert Wittman, known as the Bureau’s “Art Indiana Jones,” who recovered more than $300 million in stolen art and cultural property. A highlight was his undercover operation to recover Rembrandt’s 1630 self-portrait, stolen in an armed robbery from Sweden’s Nationalmuseum in 2000. The discussion explores Wittman’s role in founding the FBI Art Crime Team and how specialized expertise in art and antiquities became a powerful tool against international criminal networks.

Topics covered

• art recovery
• FBI
• cultural property
• undercover operations
• international crime
• art crime team

Keywords

• FBI
• Robert Wittman
• art theft
• cultural property
• undercover operations
• art crime team
• Rembrandt

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI, Nationalmuseum

Books & works: Rembrandt’s 1630 self-portrait

Places: Sweden

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