In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, after a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Boston, two men dressed as police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with approximately $500 million worth of art treasures. Despite the efforts of local police, federal agents, amateur sleuths and quite a few journalists, no one has found any of the 13 works lost in the biggest art heist in history, including a rare Vermeer and three valuable Rembrandts.
The legacy of the heist is always evident to museum visitors who, decades later, still face it empty frames on the gallery walls where paintings once hung. They are kept there as a reminder of the loss, museum officials say, and in the hope that the works may eventually return. Last month, Richard Abath, the night watchman who accidentally let the thieves in, died aged 57. It was vital in an investigation that remains active but where the trail has been frozen.
Here are five oddities that make it one of America’s most fascinating crimes.
The thieves took a really strange array of things.
Important paintings were removed from their frames during the robbery. But other items stolen were not nearly of the same caliber: a Chinese metal vase of no description; A fairly common bronze eagle from the top of a flagpole. and five small sketches by Degas. Thieves made their way past paintings and jade figurines worth millions, including a Michelangelo design, but spent some of their 81 minutes scrambling to free the vase from a difficult locking mechanism.
The handcuffed security guard was later examined.
Abath, one of two guards on duty, was handcuffed and gagged with duct tape. He was never named a suspect. But over the years investigators continued to scrutinize his behavior because he had, against protocol, opened the museum door to thieves. (The second guard, who is still alive, was never the focus of investigative interest.) The FBI tracked Abath’s assets for decades, but never saw any suspicious income. He consistently stated that he told investigators everything he knew and that an FBI polygraph he voluntarily took was deemed “inconclusive.”
The empty frames are left on the walls.
The museum was once Gardner’s home, and she wanted to ensure that her extensive art collection would be displayed in the same way she had arranged for it. She stipulated in her will that nothing was to be removed or rearranged, or that the collection was to be sent to Paris for auction, with the proceeds going to Harvard University. Although it has long been reported that the empty frames were left hanging to comply with this will, the museum says this is actually a longstanding mistake that has not been corrected. “We chose to exhibit them,” he said in a statement “because 1.) we remain confident that the works will at some point return to their rightful place in galleries. and 2.) is a poignant reminder of the loss to audiences of these unique works.”
The thieves left behind a valuable Rembrandt.
A self-portrait of Rembrandt at the age of 23 was taken down by thieves but left leaning against a cupboard. “I really think they probably forgot about it,” said Anthony Amore, the museum’s current head of security. The work was on an oak panel, making it heavier than the stolen canvas paintings. But it was about the same dimensions as Govaert Flink’s ‘Landscape with Obelisk’, which was also in oak and stolen.
The list of suspects was a dizzying stew.
Researchers looked at all kinds of burglars and art thieves and dismissed all kinds of theories. Did Whitey Bulger steal art to help the Irish Republican Army raise money for arms? No. Did the Mafia want a bargaining chip to help get a member out of prison? It can. In 2015 the FBI named two long-dead Boston-area criminals, George Reissfelder and Lenny DiMuzio, as possible robbers. They have never publicly discussed why.
Researchers still hope to recover the art. The museum increased its endowment to $10 million in 2017. from $5 million in 1997 and $1 million in 1990. It has dedicated many units of Website to educate the public about crime. He embraces the publicity in the hope that someone, someday, somewhere will recognize one of the artworks and contact him.
“We’ve followed every lead and we’re still checking in on new customers,” Amore said, adding, “All that matters is finding out where they are today and getting them back.”
Installation photos by Tony Luong for The New York Times. Paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
Produced by Tala Shafie, Marysa Greenawalt and Josephine Sedgwick.