Was the Art From the Gardner Museum Heist Solved?

Art|Art Museum

In March of 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was the victim of a daring heist. Thirteen works of art were stolen, including some of the museum’s most valuable pieces.

The robbery remains unsolved to this day and is one of the largest unsolved art crimes in history.

The Gardner Museum Heist was an inside job. Two men posing as police officers arrived at the museum on March 18, 1990, claiming they were responding to reports of a disturbance.

The guards on duty allowed them entry and were then tied up and locked in the basement while the thieves proceeded to steal 13 works of art. The stolen pieces included three Rembrandts, five Degas sketches, a Manet painting, and other pieces by Vermeer, Flinck, and Govaert Flinck.

In the ensuing years following the heist, there have been many theories as to who was responsible for the theft. Many believe that it was an organized crime group from Boston who had inside knowledge of the museum’s security system and layout. Others believe that it was a group from outside Massachusetts who had access to detailed information about the museum’s collection.

Despite numerous investigations by both federal and state authorities over the years since 1990, no one has ever been charged with or convicted for this crime. In 2017, FBI agents announced that they had identified “persons of interest” in connection with this case but refused to release any further information on their investigation.

Was the Art From The Gardner Museum Heist Solved?

Unfortunately no. Despite years of investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies and numerous theories as to who may be responsible for this crime, it remains unsolved today with no suspects ever being charged or convicted for it.