Failure™ Magazine

The Gardner Heist

One museum, two thieves, 13 works of art. Reward money? $5 million. Getting the art back: priceless.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Arts & Entertainment

How did the thieves loot the museum?
They dressed up like cops, wearing full police uniforms, including the hats, badges, and even the little pins police officers wear on their lapels. They advised one of the night watchmen that there was a disturbance inside the museum, and the guard [in a breach of museum policy] let them in. They looted the gallery for over an hour and stole a Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five works by Degas, among others. Today experts believe the paintings are worth as much as $500 million. It remains the largest art theft in history.

How do you think Isabella Gardner would have reacted to news of the theft?
She was a very passionate, flamboyant woman who saw art as something very personal and intimate, and I think she’d be outraged. It should make us all outraged. It’s easy to say it’s just a case of a wealthy old woman losing a few things—what’s the big deal? But the stolen paintings are masterpieces, and if they remain missing, no one will ever see them. That’s a tragedy.

Tell me about the security measures the museum had in place at the time of the theft.
The museum was not secure. It had only two security guards, one of whom later admitted to smoking marijuana before he got to work. And it had motion detectors, but that was about it. At that point in time, security was not particularly good at any of the museums in the [Boston] area and we saw a lot of art thefts happening.

Since then the Gardner has made a huge effort to improve security. Obviously, they don’t discuss their efforts publicly, but from what I can gather it is quite secure today.

What happened to the night watchman you refer to as “Ray Abell”? Was he fired?
He left [the museum] shortly after the theft. He’s living in upstate Vermont now, and not long ago he was called in front of a grand jury, but it didn’t lead to anything.

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