The Mystery of the Stolen Paintings that Have Never Been Found
The Gardner Museum Robbery of 1990 still stands today as the largest single art heist in history. Over £300 million in paintings were stolen, including Rembrandt’s masterpiece and only seascape “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee”. Those paintings have never been found and the two men who stole them, both dressed as police officers that day, have never been identified. We hope the museum had some contents insurance! The quest for these missing paintings is the Holy Grail treasure hunt for modern art enthusiasts. The paintings, unlike other masterpieces stolen in the past, have never resurfaced anywhere. There have been rumors that crime boss Whitey Bulger was responsible for the job and that the IRA used the profits for their cause, but none of it has ever been proven. The two men who committed the crime did not wear masks. They sat in a vehicle by the side entrance to the museum for some time before entering but were never identified. Both guards at the museum saw them clearly and let them in but somehow the two men were able to spend 81 minutes in the museum looting some of the world’s finest works of art. The proximity alarm even went off at one point and no one heard it. Where are these missing paintings? They include three Rembrandt’s and a Vermeer, “The Concert”, truly recognizable masterpieces for any collector. You would think by now that at least one of them might have turned up. The FBI is still searching and the Gardner Museum has had a $5 million reward posted for nearly twenty years now, all to no avail. In February of this year an inmate at MCI Norfolk, a prison in Massachusetts, claimed through his attorney that he knows where the Gardner paintings are hidden. His credibility is doubtful and his motives are clear, a reduction in his sentence that would lead to his freedom. Authorities have investigated but nothing has turned up. In case you’re wondering, he says they are in a safe house in Maine. That should narrow it down if you’re in the treasure hunt.
