World's Costliest Art Heist Thieves Identified

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it now knows the identity of the thieves behind the 1990 break-in and robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, one of the world's costliest art heists, though the agency is not releasing details and is looking to the public for assistance.

On March 18, 1990, two men dressed as police officers entered the museum, tied up the security guards, and walked away with 13 paintings—including rare works by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and Vermeer—valued at some $500 million. The heist remains the largest property crime in U.S. history.

Federal agents believe the art was taken to the Philadelphia region and Connecticut shortly after the theft, and offered for sale about a decade ago. In a statement, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers said the suspects belonged to a criminal organization based in New England and the Mid-Atlantic States. The FBI has a website aimed at getting help to crack the case at www.FBI.gov/gardner.

Click “next” to see the 13 artworks stolen in the largest property crime in U.S. history.

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633

This is Rembrandt's only known seascape.

The Concert, Vermeer, 1658–1660

This is one of approximately only 36 known works by Vermeer in the world. This work was Isabella Gardner's first major acquisition, purchased with the help of experts at a Paris auction sale. Gardner placed it on a table alongside the window, a location where she often placed her most prized paintings, with a chair in front of it to invite viewing.

A Lady and Gentleman in Black, Rembrandt, 1633

This monumental work hung in a prominent spot in the Dutch Room, visible through its windows overlooking the court. Rembrandt completed this work in his second year in Amsterdam in 1632.

Chez Tortoni, Manet, 1878–1880

Gardner placed this small work on a table beneath the darker and far more somber portrait of Manet's mother, shown as a widow in a black veil and a silk dress entirely in black.

Landscape with an Obelisk, Govaert Flinck, 1638

Long attributed to Rembrandt, this work was recognized in the 1980s as the work of his pupil, Govaert Flinck. Gardner placed this work on a table alongside a window, opposite Vermeer's The Concert.

La Sortie de Pesage, Degas

Pencil and watercolor on paper.

Program for an Artistic Soirée, Degas, 1884

Charcoal on white paper.

Program for an Artistic Soirée, Study 2, Degas, 1884

A less-finished version, charcoal on buff paper.

Cortège aux Environs de Florence, Degas

Pencil and wash on paper.

Three Mounted Jockeys, Degas

Black ink, white, flesh and rose washes, probably oil pigments, applied with a brush on medium brown paper.

Self-Portrait, Rembrandt, ca. 1634

This small etching is nearly the size of a postage stamp, and is also referred to as Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It was completed in 1633 when the artist was 27 years of age. The small work was affixed to the side of a carved oak cabinet in the Dutch Room beneath Rembrandt's painted Self-Portrait of 1929.

Finial in the form of an eagle, French, 1813–1814

Approx. 10 in. high, this originally sat on the top of the pole support of a silk Napoleonic flag in the Short Gallery, which was not taken by the thieves. The finial is made of bronze, but may have had the appearance of gold to the thieves. The finial is one of only two objects stolen.

Chinese Bronze Beaker or Ku, 1200–1100 B.C.

An ancient bronze beaker, this object sat on a table in the Dutch Room. This is the oldest artwork taken by the thieves and the second of the two objects stolen.