What Is the Biggest Art Heist in History?

Art|Art History

The biggest art heist in history was the theft of several masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts on March 18, 1990.
The thieves managed to get away with $500 million worth of artwork, including pieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas. The crime remains unsolved to this day, despite a $10 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the works.

The two men responsible for the heist were identified as being connected to organized crime. They were believed to have had inside help from someone familiar with the museum’s security system and alarm codes. The thieves were able to disable the alarm system and gain access to the galleries without being detected.

Once inside, they spent over an hour selecting 13 works of art, which they then loaded onto a wheelbarrow and wheeled out of the museum. They left behind another piece that was too large for them to carry. The surveillance cameras in the galleries had been disabled as well – making it impossible for investigators to identify them by their images.

Since then, authorities have been searching for clues that could lead them to the stolen works of art. However, no substantial leads have been uncovered in nearly 30 years since the heist occurred. It is believed that some or all of the stolen pieces may be hidden in private collections – hidden away from public view until they are discovered again one day.

The Gardner Museum has continued its efforts to recover these masterpieces by offering a reward and providing an online database of information about each piece that was taken during the heist. This includes descriptions and images so that anyone who comes across one of these works can help identify them if it surfaces somewhere else in the world.

In conclusion, What Is The Biggest Art Heist In History? is still unsolved after almost 30 years since its occurrence in 1990 at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum where 13 masterpieces worth over $500 million were stolen by two men connected with organized crime who had inside help disabling alarms and surveillance cameras. Despite numerous investigations, none of these works have been recovered yet.