$5 Million Reward Offered for Stolen Gardner Museum Artwork
The FBI and the Gardner Museum in Boston are seeking the return of 13 pieces of art stolen in 1990.
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| An empty frame in the Dutch Room of the Gardner Museum, where Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black once hung. |
The Gardner Museum Theft
Reward Offered for Return of Artwork
03/18/13
Today, the FBI—along with Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts—asked for the public’s help in recovering artwork stolen from the museum more than two decades ago in what remains the largest property crime in U.S. history.
At a press conference this afternoon in Boston on the 23rd anniversary of the theft, officials hoped to get the attention of those who might have or know the whereabouts of the 13 stolen works of art—including rare paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer—by publicly restating a $5 million reward.
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Following Leads Around the World
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“Today, we are pleased to announce that the FBI has made significant investigative progress in the search for the stolen art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,” said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office. “We’ve determined in the years after the theft that the art was transported to the Connecticut and Philadelphia regions. But we haven’t identified where the art is right now, and that’s why we are asking the public for help.”
“With these considerable developments in the investigation over the last couple of years,” said Special Agent Geoff Kelly, who heads the FBI investigation, “it’s likely over time someone has seen the art hanging on a wall, placed above a mantel, or stored in an attic. We want that person to call the FBI.”
Anthony Amore, the Gardner Museum’s chief of security, explained that the museum is offering a $5 million reward “for information that leads directly to the recovery of all of our items in good condition. What that means is that you don’t have to hand us the paintings to be eligible for the reward.” Amore added, “We hope that through this type of public campaign, people will see how earnest we are in our attempts to pay this reward and make our institution whole.”
Officials stressed that anyone with information about the artwork can contact the FBI, the museum, or the U.S. Attorney’s Office directly or through a third party. “An individual who wishes to protect his or her identity can go through an attorney and the reward can be paid through an attorney,” Amore said. “There is no shortage of ways to get information to us. We simply want to recover our paintings and move forward. This is the 23rd anniversary of the robbery,” he said. “It’s time for these paintings to come home.”
We need your help: If you have information about the missing Gardner Museum artwork, you can contact the FBI’s hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip on the website. All information will be held in the strictest confidence.
