On the morning of March 18, 1990, thieves pulled off one of the biggest art heists in history. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts was the scene of the crime.
The thieves managed to get away with 13 pieces of priceless artwork, worth over $500 million.
The heist began shortly after 1 a.m., when two men posing as police officers convinced the security guards to let them in. Once inside, they tied up and blindfolded the guards and proceeded to steal artwork from three of the museum’s galleries and a private viewing room.
The stolen works included three Rembrandts – the only seascape painting by Rembrandt, and two portraits – Vermeer’s “The Concert”, Govaert Flinck’s “Landscape with an Obelisk” (valued at $20 million alone), five Degas sketches and drawings, an Édouard Manet painting, a Chinese guandong sculpture from the Shang Dynasty (14th century BC), and a finial from an eagle lectern.
Despite numerous investigations by both federal and local law enforcement agencies, as well as private investigators hired by the museum itself, to date none of the stolen artwork has been recovered. In 2017, a $10 million reward was offered for information leading to either their recovery or arrest of those responsible.
The unsolved theft remains one of history’s great mysteries. It stands as an example of how ill-prepared many museums are when it comes to protecting their collections from theft or damage.
Conclusion:
The biggest art heist in history took place at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts on March 18th 1990. The thieves managed to get away with 13 pieces of priceless artwork worth over $500 million that have yet to be recovered despite numerous investigations by law enforcement agencies and private investigators. This unsolved theft stands as an example of how ill-prepared many museums are when it comes to protecting their collections from theft or damage.