The Gallery of Lost Art

"Art history tends to be the history of what has survived. But loss has shaped our sense of art's history in ways that we are often not aware of." These words are spoken by Jennifer Mundy, who wants to raise that awareness through . This web exhibition dreamt up by the Tate Modern presents the remains of lost major modern and post-modern works of art. All possible forms of loss are represented here: disappearance, theft, destruction, modification and decay. Marcel Duchamp made the selection with his urinal, one of his early readymades. It disappeared without a trace after its debut appearance in 1917, and a replica has been exhibited ever since. Lucian Freud's portrait of Francis Bacon was snatched from an exhibition in broad daylight, never to be seen again. And Willem de Kooning gave up-and-coming Robert Rauschenberg permission to literally erase one of his paintings. Conceptual artist John Baldessari chose to cremate his paintings himself, creating two new artworks. The photos, posters, documents and other remains are laid out on virtual exhibition tables. In mid-2013, the exhibition itself will disappear, emphasizing art's loss. Until that time, a new lost work will be added each week. Director Jane Burton of Tate Modern will be one of the main speakers at the .