March 18 – Anniversary of the Biggest Art Theft Ever

nPostednon March 18, 2016

Itnwas just the wee hours of March 18, 1990, and two policemen arrivednat the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston, Massachusetts. Onenof the police officers pushed the buzzer and told one of the twonsecurity guards on the premises that they’d heard a disturbance innthe museum’s courtyard.

nThe cops asked to be let in so that they couldninvestigate.

nThensecurity guard let the policemen in. But then one of the officersntold the security guard that he looked familiar. There was, henclaimed, a warrant out for his arrest. The security guard was upset –nit was, he was sure, some sort of mistake – but he stepped out fromnbehind his desk, intending to cooperate with the police, and was soonnhandcuffed.

nThensecond security guard arrived back on the scene, having finished hisnrounds, and asked what was going on. He, too, soon found himself innhandcuffs.

n“Whynare we being arrested?” one of the guards asked.

n“You’rennot being arrested – you’re being robbed!” one of the policemennanswered. n

nAnd,nyeah, it turned bout that these guys were not police officers at all.nThe uniforms were fake, and the badges were fake, although thenhandcuffs were very real!

nThensecurity guards were hustled into the museum’s basement, where theynwere handcuffed to pipes and wrapped with duct tape around theirnhands, feet, and heads.

nThentwo not-cops stole thirteen pieces of art! The worth of the art was,nall together, about $500 million. This is considered the largestnprivate property theft in history!

Piecesnby Vermeer, Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and Flinck were stolen. Still,nsome works were left behind that were far more valuable than the onesnthat were stolen. Did the art thieves just not know much about art?nOr did they have some curious reason for why they chose to steal thenparticular pieces they took?

Not every art piece stolen in the
heist was a painting — there were
two three-D items and several
Degas sketches, as well.

n
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nTwenty-sixnyears later, the case has never been solved. Nobody knows who did thenheist, and none of the artworks have been recovered, and to this daynthe empty frames hang in the museum, as homage to the missingnpaintings and as placeholders in case they are ever found.

nApparentlynthe museum feels hopeful that one day the artworks will be recovered,nbecause they have publicized to whoever has them that the paintingsnshould be kept in a stable environment of 50% humidity and 70 degreesnF. They should be kept away from light, store in acid-free paper, andnnever rolled.

nButnall that advice may be for nothing, because the art thieves may bendead (the FBI’s two prime suspects have since died); the art worksnmay have been destroyed (which would explain why they have nevernsurfaced), but even if they are still around, they may not be carednfor, because it is possible that nobody alive knows where they are!

nYounmight think that this case is colder than cold, but the investigationnis still ongoing. Just a few months ago a racing track was searchednby FBI agents, based on some old rumors that just came to light. Thenpaintings were not found, but the FBI is patient….and they may yetnprevail.

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