What is documented
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]
Essential facts
- Who
- Two unidentified people posing as police officers; two museum guards were restrained.
- What
- The theft of thirteen works by artists including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and Manet.
- Where
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Fenway–Kenmore, Boston, United States.
- When
- Shortly after midnight on 18 March 1990.
- How
- The offenders gained entry by claiming to respond to a disturbance, restrained the guards, and removed works from galleries over roughly 81 minutes.
Record history
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