Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 1990
On March 18th, 1990 one of the biggest art heists in history took place. A red Dodge Daytona pulled up to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and waited until 1 am. At that point two men, dressed as police officers convinced the security guard at the museum to let them in. Once inside the men claimed that they had a warrant out for the security guard’s arrest and quickly cuffed him. When the second security guard finished his rounds and came upon the scene he was cuffed and both guards had their mouths, hands and feet duct taped. Motion sensors then tracked the steps of the two men as they moved throughout the museum to remove the priceless works of art.
Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is Rembrandt’s only known seascape and it was cut from its frame. Rembrandt’s The Lady and Gentleman in Black was also stolen. The thieves then moved on to the Vermeer’s The Concert which is one of only 34 known Vermeer works in the world. In total 11 paintings, an ancient Chinese gu and a bronze finial were stolen. Their value has been placed at over $500 million which makes this the biggest art theft from a private residence in history.
There have been a number of investigations and some have even suspected the security guards as being in on the heist. None of the leads have proven successful. No one has been charged with the crime and no artwork has been recovered. To this day the empty frames sit inside the museum as homage to the missing paintings and placeholders for when they are returned. Initially a reward of $1 million was offered for the return of the paintings but it was increased to $5 million in 1997. The museum keeps the reward on offer to this day and has even offered instructions to help whoever has the artwork in their possession to keep them in good condition.