Embassy Art - 42 Missing

Paintings, prints and sculptures from the Government Art Collection, worth tens of thousands of pounds, have been stolen, lost or destroyed while on loan to British embassies or residences across the world. Information gained through the Freedom of Information Act shows that 42 works of art have vanished in the past 10 years - and none is insured. The art collection, which gets a £500,000 yearly grant and spends about half of it buying works of art, sends the pieces to foreign missions to "promote British art, culture and history". It said it was unable to put a value on the works. Apart from objects that were known to have been stolen, more than half the total art simply disappeared for no known reason. Others were lost in terrorist attacks. For the full story - click the title Irish Art