The THRILLING Mystery of the $500 Million Art Heist

The THRILLING Mystery of the $500 Million Art Heist

July 6, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode explores the thrilling mystery of the $500 million art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men dressed as Boston police knocked on the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, claimed they were responding to a disturbance, and were calmly let inside. Ninety‑one minutes later, the guards were tied up in the basement, thirteen masterpieces, including a Rembrandt seascape and a rare Vermeer, had been sliced from their frames, and more than $500 million in art had vanished into the night, leaving behind empty gold frames that still hang on the museum walls as taunting reminders of the biggest unsolved art heist in modern history.

People in this episode

Host: Georgia Marie

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Books & works: Rembrandt seascape, Vermeer

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