Missing: Have you seen this painting? The greatest art robbery remains unsolved
Can you solve one of art’s greatest mysteries? If you were to provide information to the FBI regarding these missing works you could earn a $10,000,000 reward.
On 18 March 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, was robbed of 13 different art pieces which, valued today, are collectively worth $500 million. Because of the value of these paintings, this heist has earned the Guinness World Records title for the greatest art robbery.
The mystery of who stole this high value art is still unknown, and the paintings they stole have never been seen again.
The night of the robbery, two men dressed as police officers were buzzed into the museum. None of the guards working that night had any suspicion that these uniforms were a disguise. During this time, the museum had low security, making it a perfect opportunity for these art thieves.
“On 17 March, Boston celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with a traditional parade in the southern part of the city. To contain a crowd fuelled with alcohol, most police watched the scene,” Anastasia Kirpalov wrote for The Collector. “The area around the museum was quiet. Only two guards were on duty, taking turns to do rounds through the galleries.”
Due to the small number of guards, by the time they realized a robbery was taking place they were easily overpowered by the thieves. The guards on duty were tied up and taken to the basement where they were not found until the new shift came in the next morning.
Once the duo was loose in the museum, what they chose to take home has baffled investigators.
The stolen works included the priceless The Concert by Johannes Vermeer and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. The works of these world-renowned painters would be an obvious choice if the thieves were going for value.
Uniquely, the thieves also stole a Napoleonic-era French Imperial Eagle Finial and an ancient Chinese ceremonial cup. Compared to a canvas, these pieces were difficult to carry.
Most strange however, they also stole the Landscape with Obelisk by Govert Flinck (a student of Rembrandt's) and five sketches by Edgar Degas, which compared to the works of Rembrandt and Vermeer, were worth very little. Why grab these pieces when they were surrounded by expensive art? One of the museum's most famous pieces done by Titian, a renaissance painter, was left untouched.
“Investigators believe the thieves had a specific set of objects to steal for their client, but no knowledge of art. Propelled by their instant success, they likely picked up random pieces that caught their attention,” Anastasia said.
This may also be an indication as to why the thieves stole certain paintings. The stolen artwork was scattered about the museum, making the time they spent more lengthy, thus making it easier for them to get caught. One of the only explanations for this would be if they were there for a client who had requested specific pieces.
As this robbery happened in the 90s, it would be assumed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum would have some surveillance footage that investigators could identify the suspects with.
However, Artsology said: “Before fleeing, the thieves smashed the surveillance tapes and took the motion detector logs.” The only record of the robbery is found on the museum’s motion sensors, indicating the robbers were in the museum for around 80 minutes.
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Still today, the museum is left with a whodunnit situation.
Leah Silverman reporting for All That’s Interesting said: “Leads have come and gone since the 1990 Boston art heist, though in more recent years, the FBI has zeroed in on a local band of thieves - many now dead - with ties to Mafia families in New England and Philadelphia.”
Since many of these local mobsters and criminals have now passed, the FBI believes the secret of where this art could be has died with them.
The museum still has room for these works of art in case one day they are returned. “Today, when people enter the Dutch room on the second floor of the museum where the Rembrandt and the Vermeer were stolen, they are immediately struck by large, gilded, ornate frames that are hanging empty because the paintings are missing,” the FBI said.
Header image: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Photo by Tianlei Wu on Unsplash