Every year thousands of art thefts are reported, with potentially just as many going unreported. In 1999,24,598 works of art and antiques were stolen in Italy alone. Some of these works are recovered, while others are distributed through channels they otherwise would not have traveled. In this way, art theft alters the circles in which a work of art circulates.

In 1965, conceptual art came into use as a term defining art with primary importance placed on the artists’ propositional concept, de-emphasizing the manner of execution. Conceptual art as a popular phenomenon, known as conceptualism, had a profound impact upon the art world as a whole because it could manifest itself in any material or form. This allowed conceptual artists to approach themes that artists working in traditional materials could not. The term conceptual art was defined by Sol LeWitt, a pioneer of the movement, to describe diverse forms of written and visual documentation, including textual data, diagrams, drawings, maps, and photographic records. Stressing the use of language and thought process, the movement was the culmination of written information being enacted as art, something begun early in the century.