Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft

In the early hours of March 18, 1990, security guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, let in two men disguised as police officers who claimed they were responding to a disturbance call. Once inside, the pair revealed their true intentions, tied up the guards, and spent over an hour stealing art from the museum's collection, which they loaded into their vehicle. It was found that they had taken 13 works of art, valued at $500 million, making it the largest private property theft in history. Despite efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and multiple probes across the world, no arrests have been made and no artwork has yet been recovered. The case remains open and unsolved, with the museum offering a reward of $5 million for information leading to recovery of the art.

The stolen works were originally purchased by art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) and intended to be left on permanent display at the museum with the rest of her collection. Since the collection and its layout are permanent, empty frames remain hanging both in homage to the missing works and as placeholders for when they are returned. Experts are puzzled by the choice of paintings that were stolen, especially since more valuable artwork was untouched. Among the stolen works was The Concert, one of only 34 known works by Vermeer and thought to be the most valuable unrecovered painting at over $200 million. Also missing is The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt's only known seascape. Other works by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and Flinck were also stolen.

According to the FBI, the stolen artwork was moved through the region and offered for sale in Philadelphia during the early 2000s. They believe the thieves were members of a criminal organization based in the mid-Atlantic and New England. They also claim to have identified two suspects, although they have not been publicly identified and are now deceased. Boston gangster Bobby Donati, murdered in 1991 as a result of ongoing gang wars, has been cited as a possible collaborator in the heist. Significant evidence suggests that Hartford, Connecticut, gangster Robert Gentile knows the location of the works, although he denies involvement.

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