Video - The Great Gardner Heist: Art Gone in 81 Minutes

The Gardner Museum Heist Duration: 45-60 seconds March 18, 1990: Two men dressed as police officers entered Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. After claiming they were responding to a disturbance, they tied up the security guards. Over the next 81 minutes, they stole 13 pieces of art worth half a billion dollars, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas. The thieves specifically targeted certain paintings, slicing them precisely from their frames. The empty frames still hang in the museum today – a reminder of the largest art heist in history. Despite a $10 million reward, none of the artwork has been recovered. The FBI believes the theft was orchestrated by a criminal organization, but the statute of limitations has expired. Only the recovery of the art matters now. Somewhere, these masterpieces remain hidden, perhaps hanging on a wall in complete secrecy.