Where Was the Largest Art Heist in History?

Art|Art History

The largest art heist in history was a crime that shocked the world. On March 18, 1990, two men dressed as police officers stole 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

The theft included three Rembrandts, five Degas, one Manet and four other works by lesser-known artists. The total value of the stolen artwork was estimated to be around $500 million.

The robbery was meticulously planned. The thieves gained access to the museum after telling security guards that they were responding to a disturbance call.

They then proceeded to tie up the guards and spend 81 minutes inside the museum, gathering up artwork that they could fit in two garbage bags and two duffel bags. Surveillance video showed them leaving by the same way they entered.

The Gardner Museum offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the artwork, but none of it has ever been found. Authorities believe that some of it may have been sold on the black market or destroyed. To this day, no one has been arrested for this crime.

Conclusion:

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist remains one of history’s biggest unsolved mysteries. Despite offering a large reward for information leading to its recovery and years of investigation by authorities, none of the stolen artwork has ever been recovered or returned to its rightful owners.