BOSTON — Monday marks 34 years since a half billion dollars worth of art was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
The heist, which remains an active investigation decades later, all unfolded around 1:30 a.m. back in 1990. Two men posing as police officers talked their way into the museum, claiming they were investigating a disturbance.
They tied up the two guards on duty and then spent 81 minutes pulling the art off the walls and shelves and slashing canvases out of their frames.
Despite a $10 million reward, the 13 pieces of art taken that day in 1990 have never been found.
Some of the frames hang empty at the museum as a reminder of the theft. Officials hope to one day fill them with the recovered art. Prints of the painting are sold at the museum’s gift store and online.
The FBI says investigators still get tips about the art, including a tip from someone who saw an image while looking through a Zillow posting in Atlanta last year and called it in. The museum’s security director said they have gotten about 20 of these tips.
Many experts believe the paintings will be recovered some day, noting that art taken by Nazis during World War 2 is still being found today.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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