What Art Pieces Were Stolen From the Gardner Museum?

Art|Art Museum

In the early morning hours of 18 March 1990, two men dressed up as police officers tricked the security guards into letting them into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. They proceeded to steal 13 works of art: a Vermeer painting, five Rembrandts, and seven sketches by Degas.

The stolen pieces are some of the most important pieces in the world of art. The theft was one of the largest and most famous art heists in history – valued at over $500 million USD.

The Vermeer painting that was stolen was The Concert, one of only 35 known paintings by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. It is considered to be one of the most important works from his lifetime.

The painting depicts a musical gathering featuring two women and a man playing instruments. It is estimated that this painting alone is worth over $200 million USD today.

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is an oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt van Rijn that was also stolen during this heist. This painting is believed to be the only seascape ever created by Rembrandt and it is widely regarded as one of his finest works.

It depicts Jesus calming a raging storm on Lake Galilee, with several frightened disciples looking on in awe. This piece alone has been valued at around $100 million USD today.

The seven sketches stolen were all created by French Impressionist Edgar Degas during various stages throughout his career and are considered to be some of his earliest pieces still in existence today. The sketchbook contained a variety of subjects including ballet dancers and young girls playing with dolls – all displayed with Degas’ signature attention to detail and movement. These sketches are estimated to be worth around $50 million USD together today.

In spite of investigations into the theft for over 30 years, none of the 13 pieces have been recovered or identified as being in circulation among art dealers or collectors yet. The FBI has offered a reward up to $10 million for information leading directly to their recovery, however no leads have been successful yet either.

All 13 pieces remain missing till this day, leaving many art enthusiasts with questions about what happened to these priceless artifacts from history’s greatest masters?

Conclusion: What Art Pieces Were Stolen From the Gardner Museum? On 18 March 1990, 13 pieces were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – 1 Vermeer painting entitled ‘The Concert’, 5 Rembrandts including ‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee’ and 7 sketches by Degas – valued at over $500 million collectively today but still missing after 30 years since their theft despite an ongoing investigation and FBI reward offer for information leading directly to their recovery.