Thirteen works were stolen in the largest property theft in modern history.
Updated 14 Aug 2026
Shortly after midnight on 18 March 1990, two people posing as police officers were admitted to Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They restrained the two guards and spent roughly 81 minutes removing thirteen works from the galleries. [1]
The missing works include pieces attributed to Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and Manet. No one has been prosecuted for the theft, the works have not been recovered, and their empty frames remain on display in the museum. [2]
5 sourced milestones
Major events in the case, shown in chronological order.
Two men posing as police officers were admitted to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum after midnight and restrained the two guards on duty.
Source: Gardner Museum ↗The intruders spent more than an hour inside and removed thirteen works of art, including paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Manet, and Degas.
Source: FBI ↗The FBI announced that investigators believed they had identified the two thieves, while continuing to seek the location of the stolen works and those who had handled them.
Source: FBI ↗Investigators released footage showing an unauthorized visitor entering the museum the night before the theft and asked the public to help identify him.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation ↗The stolen works remain missing. The museum keeps the empty frames on display and continues to offer a reward for information leading to their recovery.
Source: Gardner Museum ↗5 videos
The museum’s security director walks through the known sequence of events.
A recent examination of recurring claims about the heist.
Long-form discussion with the author of Master Thieves.
Trailer for the 2006 documentary about the missing works.
A 2025 discussion of suspects and recent reporting.
Play here or open the original video on YouTube.
Ask questions, compare sources, and share documented updates.
Reading is open to everyone. Create an account to contribute, reply, and mark useful findings.
Begin with a careful question or a documented finding.