Movies like The Art of the Steal (2010)
The best movies like The Art of the Steal (2010) are The Price of Everything (2018), Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) and Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015). If The Art of the Steal hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFinding Vivian Maier (2014)7.6/10 from 342 votes
- NewestArt for Everybody (2023)Released 2023
The Price of Everything (2018)
Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, including market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, this documentary examines the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011)
Interviews with the junior designers swept into the 24-7 world of "The Eamery" are the heart of this complex picture of a husband-and-wife creative team that define the era of Mid-Century Modernism. Narrated by James Franco, the film draws from a trove of archival material, primarily the stunning films and photographs produced in mind-boggling volume by Charles, Ray, and their staff during the hyper-creative forty years of the Eames Office.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015)
Bouncing between Europe and the United States as often as she would between lovers, Peggy Guggenheim’s life was as swirling as the design of her uncle’s museum, and reads more like fiction than any reality imaginable. Peggy Guggenheim – Art Addict offers a rare look into Guggenheim’s world: blending the abstract, the colorful, the surreal and the salacious, to portray a life that was as complex and unpredictable as the artwork Peggy revered and the artists she pushed forward.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Lost Leonardo (2021)
London, England, 2008. Some of the most distinguished experts on the work of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) gather at the National Gallery to examine a painting known as Salvator Mundi; an event that turns out to be the first act of one of the most fascinating stories in the history of art.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThere Are No Fakes (2019)
Norval Morrisseau was the first Indigenous Canadian artist to be taken seriously in the art world. By the turn of this century his work commanded tens of thousands of dollars. So when Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn learned his prized painting was a forgery, he sued. But as Jamie Kastner's doc reveals, there was a cottage industry in fake Morrisseaus, an industry that flourished unchecked for years, feeding on greed, exploitation, racism and contempt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A Bigger Splash (1973)
After a difficult break-up, Hockney is left unable to paint, much to the concern of his friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Incognito (1997)
Harry Donovan is an art forger who paints fake Rembrandt picture for $500,000. The girl he meets and gets into bed with in Paris, Marieke, turns out to be an arts expert Harry's clients are using to check the counterfeit picture he painted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisTim's Vermeer (2013)
Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all art: How did Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer manage to paint so photo-realistically 150 years before the invention of photography? Spanning a decade, Jenison's adventure takes him to Holland, on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artista David Hockney, and eventually even to Buckingham Palace. The epic research project Jenison embarques on is as extraordinary as what he discovers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFinding Vivian Maier (2014)
Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Painter and the Thief (2020)
When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, the cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDerren Brown: The Great Art Robbery (2013)
In this brand new episode, master illusionist and showman Derren Brown plans to pull off the perfect crime. He’s bet renowned art collector Ivan Massow that he can steal a painting from right under his nose. In true Derren style, he will tell Ivan exactly which painting he plans to target – a work by Turner-nominated British brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman no less – as well as what time the theft will happen. He’ll even give him a photograph of the person that’s going to take it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Hitler Versus Picasso (2018)
In 1937 the Nazi regime held two exhibitions in Munich: one to stigmatize “Degenerate Art” (which they systematically looted and destroyed) and one, personally curated by Hitler, to glorify “Classic Art”. This immersive new documentary reveals the Nazi’s complicated relationship with classical and modern art, displaying an incredible number of masterpieces by Botticelli, Klee, Matisse, Monet, Chagall, Renoir and Gauguin amongst others, intertwined with human stories from the most infamous period of the twentieth century. A state-of-the-art detective story exploring the Nazis’ obsession with creative expression, Hitler versus Picasso combines history, art and human drama for an unforgettable cinema experience.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlurred Lines: Inside the Art World (2017)
As one art scene insider proclaims, the contemporary art world can be summed up as “rich people trying to prove how rich they are,” but is that all there is to this billion dollar industry? Well-researched and expertly constructed, Barry Avrich’s eye-opening documentary peels back the layers of the art world economy- from production to circulation, and delineates every integral player in the game of art-making, including curators, gallerists, collectors, donors, auction houses, and … artists. In the process, he unpacks the complex and surprising ecosystem that supports the art world superstars and million-dollar deals that make front-page news. Featuring extraordinary access to industry players and candid statements from prominent artists like Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel, Taryn Simon, and Marina Abramovic, Blurred Lines collides the two narratives of the art world as both above and beholden to market forces.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Art and Craft (2014)
For several decades, gifted and incredibly prolific forger Mark Landis compulsively created impeccable copies of works by a variety of major artists, donating them to institutions across the country and landing pieces on many of their walls. ART AND CRAFT brings us into the cluttered and insular life of an unforgettable character just as he finds his foil in an equally obsessive art registrar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMade You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020)
A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006)
After semi-truck driver Teri Horton bought a large splatter painting for her friend for $5, she was forced to sell it in her own garage sale when her friend said she had no place for it. Eventually someone commented on the painting stating it might be an original Jackson Pollock. This documentary follows Teri, her son, and a forensics specialist as they attempt to prove to the world, or more specifically the art community, her painting is a true Jackson Pollock
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
My Kid Could Paint That (2007)
A look at the work and surprising success of a four-year-old girl whose paintings have been compared to the likes of Picasso and has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrillo Box (3¢ off) (2016)
Follow a beloved Andy Warhol Brillo Box sculpture as it makes its way from a family's living room to a record-breaking Christie's auction, blending personal narrative with pop culture, and exploring how we navigate the ephemeral nature of art and value.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Herb & Dorothy (2009)
He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With their modest means, the couple managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history. Meet Herb and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and disciplines and defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Objectified (2009)
A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thief Collector (2022)
In 1985, Willem de Kooning’s “Woman-Ochre,” one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century, vanished into the Arizona desert after being cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 32 years later, the $160 million painting was found hanging in the home of Jerry and Rita Alter in rural New Mexico.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Art for Everybody (2023)
Thomas Kinkade’s pastoral landscapes made him the most collected and despised painter of all time. After his shocking death, his family discovers a vault of unseen paintings that reveal a complex artist whose life and work embody our divided America.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006)
First and foremost, Frank Gehry is an artist. Described as a young child as having golden hands, Frank begins his creation through sketch. Forming thought into substantive sculpture, the marriage of art and architechure is brought to life. Join director Sydney Pollack on a journey into the world and work of the most important architect of our Age.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Banksy Does New York (2014)
On October 1, 2013, the elusive street artist Banksy launched a month-long residency in New York, an art show he called Better Out Than In. As one new work of art was presented each day in a secret location, a group of fans, called “Banksy Hunters,” took to the streets and blew up social media.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Architect: A Son's Journey (2003)
World-famous architect Louis Kahn (Exeter Library, Salk Institute, Bangladeshi Capitol Building) had two illegitimate children with two different women outside of his marriage. Son Nathaniel always hoped that someday his father would come and live with him and his mother, but Kahn never left his wife. Instead, Kahn was found dead in a men's room in Penn Station when Nathaniel was only 11.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Urbanized (2011)
A documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdvanced Style (2014)
Advanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging. Based on Ari Seth Cohen’s famed blog of the same name, this film paints intimate and colorful portraits of independent, stylish women aged 62 to 95 who are challenging conventional ideas about beauty, aging, and Western’s culture’s increasing obsession with youth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist (2022)
Through candid interviews, the perpetrators of Argentina's most notorious bank heist detail how — and why — they carried out the radical 2006 operation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Art of the Steal?
The closest matches to The Art of the Steal are The Price of Everything (2018), Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) and Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Art of the Steal?
People who watched The Art of the Steal most often go on to The Price of Everything (2018), Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) and Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Art of the Steal?
Finding Vivian Maier (2014), rated 7.6/10 by 342 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Art of the Steal?
Art for Everybody (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Art of the Steal?
Yes: The Price of Everything (2018), Eames: The Architect and the Painter (2011) and Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015).
How are movies similar to The Art of the Steal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Art of the Steal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.