The biggest robbery in history: how masterpieces worth $ 500 million were stolen from the Boston Museum (8 photos)

30 years ago at the Gardner Museum in Boston, one of the most major thefts in modern art history. The robbers stole the paintings for a total of $ 500 million. The owners of the museum have appointed a reward in $ 10 million, but not a single masterpiece was found.

Let's figure it out!





1. The theft took place on March 17, 1990, when the entire city was celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and two guards were bored for 20 years, going around museum halls



The robbers pretended to be police officers and calmly walked into the halls museum, announcing that the guards had been arrested. Thieves pulled out of the frame canvases by Rembrandt, Flinck, Vermeer and other artists. They stayed in the museum for an hour and a half, since then none of the stolen works have never been found.

2. 16 thousand exhibits - such a number of works of art at that time were in the museum



In the will of Isabella Stewart Gardner (founder museum) it was said that the expositions could not be interchanged, sell or donate, as well as replenish the collection with new exhibits. Therefore, museum workers were forced to hang empty frames in their places stolen items. Thus the concept of the museum has changed, and it became a kind of symbol of the "lost art".

3. Museum curator Gardner Ann Hawley answers journalists' questions at a press conference immediately after the robbery.



The investigation has many questions.

How could thieves safely spend so much time in the museum?

Why didn't they take the most valuable painting "The Rape of Europa" by Titian?

How did the Manet painting disappear? After all, motion sensors showed that the robbers did not enter the gallery where they hung.

4. Painting by Jan Vermeer "Concert" is considered one of the most valuable in the collection



The FBI spent decades looking for it. In 2006 one of agents was as close as possible to finding the loss. Working under cover and pretending to be an underground French art critic, he went out on the sellers who offered him to buy stolen masterpieces collections, but the deal fell through at the last moment.

5. According to one version, the theft was carried out by members of criminal gangs in Boston



And masterpieces, perhaps, are still in the USA to this day. IN 2013 year, the identity of the robbers even managed to be established, but by that time they were already dead.

6. Many private detectives were looking for paintings, but 73-year-old Charlie Hill has the most impressive results: it was he who managed to return paintings worth $ 100 million



He believed that the robbers were connected with the Irish Republican army. First, this was indicated by a characteristic day Robbery is an Irish national holiday. Secondly, during tying the guard, one of the robbers used the word "mate", which is unusual for Americans.

7. Theft is still considered one of the largest in the world



And each of the detectives who have ever investigated this case holds different points of view. Anthony Amor suspects one of guards, Artur Brand believes that masterpieces should be sought in different places, and Robert Wittman even believes that the paintings can be destroyed.