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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist

Published September 21, 2026Updated September 21, 2026
UnsolvedVisual case overview

12 documented events · 4 mapped locations · unresolved case

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, through the record

In the early hours of March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers were admitted through the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s employee entrance. They restrained two guards and spent 81 minutes removing 13 objects from the Dutch...

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In the early hours of March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers were admitted through the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s employee entrance. They restrained two guards and spent 81 minutes removing 13 objects from the Dutch Room, Short Gallery and Blue Room, including Vermeer’s The Concert and Rembrandt’s only known seascape. The FBI says the works, valued collectively at more than $500 million, were later separated and may have moved through criminal networks, but no thief has been publicly convicted and none of the art has been recovered.

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Eagle Finial — Antoine-Denis Chaudet

Case record

Eagle Finial — Antoine-Denis Chaudet

Recent developments

Latest updates

Recent reporting and official developments, labeled by source and verification status.

RetrospectiveArticleReported

Apr 26, 2026 · Associated Press

Former FBI case agent publishes a detailed Gardner-heist reconstruction

Associated Press examined Geoffrey Kelly's new account of the investigation, including the evidence behind his belief that Bobby Donati and George Reissfelder were involved and the challenges that prevented charges or recovery.

Context

Kelly's account reflects a former lead investigator's conclusions. It does not constitute a conviction, an official naming of the thieves, or recovery of any missing work.

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The scale

The case in four numbers

12
documented events
in the published chronology
28
years represented
1990 through 2017
14
people in the record
victims, witnesses, investigators, and suspects
4
mapped locations
connected to the published case file

The case sequence

Events that define the published record

This selection follows the major progression of the case from its earliest documented event through the latest material development.

See all 4 mapped locations →
  1. 01

    Mar 18, 1990

    Two men posing as police steal 13 works

    Between 1:24 and 2:45 a.m., two men posing as Boston police gained entry, isolated and restrained the guards, and looted the Dutch Room, Short Gallery and Blue Room. Motion records, the guards' accounts and the condition of the galleries provide a detailed but incomplete reconstruction of their 81 minutes inside.

  2. 02

    Mar 21, 1990

    Museum announces a $1 million recovery reward

    Within three days, with assistance from major auction houses, the museum offered $1 million for information leading to the safe return of the missing works. The offer established recovery—not prosecution—as the institution's continuing priority.

  3. 03

    Jan 1, 1994

    The empty frames become permanent reminders

    The museum returned the empty Dutch Room and Blue Room frames to display. They remain both evidence of the altered installations and placeholders expressing the museum's intention to restore the works if recovered.

  4. 04

    Jan 1, 1997

    Recovery reward increases to $5 million

    The museum increased its standing reward to $5 million as the investigation pursued organized-crime and purported-recovery leads. The higher offer did not produce a verified return.

  5. 05

    Mar 18, 2013

    FBI says it has identified the thieves

    The FBI announced that investigators had identified the thieves with a high degree of confidence and believed the art had moved through organized-crime networks in New England and the mid-Atlantic. It withheld the alleged thieves' names and emphasized that locating the works remained the goal.

  6. 06

    May 1, 2017

    Museum doubles the principal reward to $10 million

    The museum raised the reward for information leading directly to the return of all 13 works in good condition to $10 million. The offer was later made permanent; a separate $100,000 reward applies to the eagle finial.

How the record develops

Three points in the documented sequence

1
From the case record

Between 1:24 and 2:45 a.m., two men posing as Boston police gained entry, isolated and restrained the guards, and looted the Dutch Room, Short Gallery and Blue Room. Motion records, the guards' accounts and the condition of the galleries provide a detailed but incomplete reconstruction of their 81 minutes inside.

2
From the case record

The museum increased its standing reward to $5 million as the investigation pursued organized-crime and purported-recovery leads. The higher offer did not produce a verified return.

3
From the case record

The museum raised the reward for information leading directly to the return of all 13 works in good condition to $10 million. The offer was later made permanent; a separate $100,000 reward applies to the eagle finial.

Gu (Chinese bronze beaker) — Unknown Chinese maker
2017
latest timeline year

Museum doubles the principal reward to $10 million

The museum raised the reward for information leading directly to the return of all 13 works in good condition to $10 million. The offer was later made permanent; a separate $100,000 reward applies to the eagle finial.

Explore the visual record →

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This overview is the map. The case tabs hold the underlying events, people, media, locations, and source material.

12 events 14 people 4 theories 4 locations 16 images Case documents