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Remembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee." One of the paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

 Have you seen this painting?
Published: 3/16/2010 1:53 PM
Last Modified: 3/16/2010 1:53 PM

This week marks the 20th anniversary of what has been called the largest theft of art in U.S. history -- the break-in at the Isbella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Early on the morning of 18 March 1990 -- as the City of Boston was recovering from one its typically boisterous St. Patrick's Day celebrations -- two men gained access to the museum (not a difficult thing, as the alarm system in place at the time was woefully inadequate and the guards on duty that evening were young and inexperienced) and made off with 13 pieces of art.

Some of the thieves' choices were just plain odd, like the finial on a flagstaff.

Some were questionable, such as the less valuable drawings by Degas that were taken while Titian's "Europa" (considered the most valuable painting in the entire collection) was left behind.

And then, some were masterpieces, such as Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and Vermeer's "The Concert," one of only 34 paintings determined to be by this artist.

The total estimated price for all this: $300 to $500 million.

The art has never been recovered. Investigators have speculated on the identity of those involved -- notorious Boston gang figure James "Whitey" Bulger was once thought to be in some way responsible for the heist, but recent investigations have discounted that theory.

The mystery surrounding the heist and the fate of the stolen art has spawned a minor industry. The documentary "Stolen" featured the efforts of "art sleuth" Harold Smith, who devoted himself to the case until his death in 2005. Ulrich Boser, who took up Smith's cause, recently published "The Gardner Heist," his non-fiction work on the theft.

Novelist David Hosp just released "Among Thieves," which mixes his regular character, attorney Scott Finn, into the case. And the Gardner heist has figured more tangentially in other works, such as Katherine Weber's "The Music Lesson," which suggests the theft was done to help finance activities of the Irish Republican Army.

And, in case anyone out there does know anything, there still stands a $5 million reward for information leading to the return of the art work in good condition.

The Gardner Museum has the empty frames still on display. The reason is Mrs. Gardner's will stipulated that her collection had to be shown in its entirety.

But it could also be a symbol of the fact that hope springs eternal.


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James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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