Mentor, Madonna, Muse, Seductress…
Gardner lived a vibrant and to some extent scandalous, life cultivating relationships that deeply impacted both her and her husband. It remains unclear whether certain friendships with younger men, such as the novelist Francis Marion Crawford or the much younger artist Ralph Curtis, were romantic affairs that flourished and floundered while her husband looked the other way. It is known that Gardner led a very active social life among a diverse network of intellectual, artistic, and religious individuals. Through these relationships and given her considerable wealth, Gardner was not just a devoted friend but a well-regarded mentor and patron, also remembered as a muse, Madonna, and seductress.
While passing through London in 1886 on her way back to Boston after several months of travel abroad with her husband, Gardner commissioned a small portrait by the expatriate American artist James McNeill Whistler. Around this time, the American novelist Henry James, who was part of Gardner’s social circle, arranged for her to receive a letter of introduction from another expatriate artist, John Singer Sargent. Following the recent scandal surrounding the exhibition of his painting Madame X (1883-84) at the Paris Salon of 1884, Gardner was not only eager to meet Sargent in person but hoped to commission a portrait from him.
John Singer Sargent, Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA.
Two years later, Sargent was in Boston and painted the portrait of Gardner that was known briefly as Woman: An Enigma. Sargent described this depiction of Gardner as a “Byzantine Madonna” and today it hangs in the Gothic Room of Gardner’s museum. Much like Madame X, this portrait caused a bit of scandal for Sargent’s depiction of Gardner in a low-cut dress that exposed a little too much bosom. In light of the vulgar comments circulating among their circle of friends and acquaintances, this portrait was only exhibited once during Jack Gardner’s lifetime as per his request.
Gardner’s education in the history of art and evolution into a serious art collector was guided by Charles Eliot Norton, the first professor of art history at Harvard University where he taught from 1874 to 1898. Norton was a close associate of the English art critic John Ruskin and was influential in fueling Gardner’s passion for medieval Italian art, literature, and architecture. While Norton may have been a mentor for Gardner, she sponsored the studies of art connoisseur and consultant Bernard Berenson, whom she bonded with over their shared loved of everything Italian. Berenson became the leading expert on the Italian Renaissance and worked as a trusted consultant and agent for Gardner when she started collecting old masters.
Dennis Miller Bunker, Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1889, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA.
Gardner held deeply religious beliefs and was closely aligned with the Episcopal Church, more specifically with the Anglican order of monks, the Cowley Fathers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist and the Church of the Advent in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. She gave generously in support of the building of high alters, funding American missions abroad, and towards the completion of St. Augustine’s Church on Beacon Hill which was built by the Cowley Fathers for the Black community of Boston. Gardner’s connection to religion was a constant throughout her life with the inclusion of a chapel space in her museum where religious services were conducted during her lifetime that have continued through today to commemorate Gardner’s birthday.
The Chariot of Venus – François Boucher
- Date created: 18th century
- Dimensions: 88 x 70 centimeters (34.6 x 27.5 inches)
The Chariot of Venus is one of the many distinctive Venus paintings by a French artist who was one of the leading figures of the Rococo era. The paintings of François Boucher (1703-1770) exemplify this frivolous period in history, including this remarkable work of art.
The color palette and the airy feeling are recurring elements in Boucher’s oeuvre, especially in the dozens of mythological paintings he completed. He was the First Painter of King Louis XV and it’s clear to understand why when you see this painting at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
The Chariot of Venus by François Boucher / Wiki Commons
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist
Around midnight on March 18, 1990, a Dodge Daytona pulled up to the side entrance of the Gardner Museum. Nearly an hour later, two men emerged from the vehicle in fake police uniforms demanding entry into the museum to investigate “a noise complaint.”
Security guard Richard Abath buzzed the thieves in and was promptly placed under a fake arrest. Though he initially believed the arrest to be real, Abath realized that one of the policemen’s mustaches was made out of wax.
He and a second security guard on duty were bound and brought into the Gardner Museum’s basement where Abath’s worst fears were confirmed. The “police” informed the guards that they were there to rob the museum.
Wikimedia CommonsManet’s Chez Tortoni, a masterwork stolen during the heist.
The thieves proceeded to remove priceless works right from the museum’s walls. They then cut Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, and A Lady and Gentleman in Black as well as Vermeer’s The Concert and Govaert Flinck’s Landscape with Obelisk out of their frames with a knife, an act that later prompted fellow art thief Stéphane Breitwieser to call the thieves “barbarians.”
They also snatched a Chinese bronze vessel from the Shang dynasty, Manet’s Chez Tortoni, and five Degas drawings. After unsuccessfully attempting to unscrew a Napoleonic flag from the wall, they took the eagle finial atop it instead.
The thieves then brought these Gardner Museum works out to their car in two trips. Police did not arrive to investigate and release the guards until 8:15 a.m. the next morning.
In a matter of 81 minutes, $500 million worth of art was stolen in the Gardner Museum heist — and nearly 30 years later, it remains missing.
The Legacy of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Until her death in 1924, when in residence at the museum, Isabella Stewart Gardner lived on the fourth floor. After her death, it became the residence for the museum’s director. During the 1980s this privately-owned institution struggled financially, and the building was in a bad condition. In 1982 the FBI unraveled the plot by Boston criminals to plunder the museum in 1982, so the security had to be improved. Despite these efforts, in 1990 the museum was robbed, and thirteen works of art were stolen. The police were unable to locate the thieves.
Isabella’s testament specified the endowment of $1 million and outlined stipulations for the support of the museum, including the instruction that the permanent collection should not be significantly altered. She also left bequests to Animal Rescue League of Boston, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Industrial School for Crippled and Deformed Children. Since the art patron was a devoted Anglo-Catholic, in her will she requested that the Cowley Fathers celebrate an annual Memorial Requiem Mass for the repose of her soul in the museum chapel, and so this obligation is performed each year on her birthday.
The philanthropic orientation of Isabella Stewart Gardner was probably affiliated with the genuine understanding of the hardship of the others, as she was herself exposed with a myriad of emotional roller-coaster throughout her life. Her collection is a result of a profound interest in arts and culture, a sincere belief that art complements the world. The Queen of the Back Bay, as Gardener was often referred to during her life, was a unique figure and a bold woman willing to fight patriarchy in her favor.
Editors’ Tip: Eye of The Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The official companion book to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s hundredth anniversary celebration. During her lifetime (1840 — 1924) Isabella Stewart Gardner was at the heart of Victorian Boston’s liveliest salon. Henry and William James, Henry Adams, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John LaFarge, James McNeill Whistler, Bernard Berenson, and John Singer Sargent all gathered at Fenway Court, in the company of works by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Titian, Raphael, Rubens, and Rembrandt. One hundred years after its completion, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum remains as intrepid and idiosyncratic as its creator. The embodiment of one woman’s vision, the Venetian palazzo turned inside out and its wildly eclectic collection of twenty-four centuries of paintings, sculpture, furnishings, and books nonetheless speak very personally to all who enter.
Featured image: Views of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. Photo: Sean Dungan; images via Wikimedia Commons.
The FBI investigated a notorious art thief, as well as the mob.
In 1975, Myles Connor Jr. stole a Rembrandt from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, which is just a short walk from the Gardner Museum. So when the latter was burgled, Connor became an immediate suspect … except he had a superb alibi: He was already in federal custody. «There’s a saying that the guards came to knock on my cell door, to make sure I was there,» Connor says in This Is a Robbery.
Still, authorities believe Connor was an inspiration to the Gardner Museum thieves. When he was collared for another crime, he used the location of the stolen Rembrandt as a bargaining chip to half his prison sentence. “I got the idea from an FBI agent,” Connor told the Netflix crew. “He said, ‘It’s gonna take a Rembrandt to get you out of this one.’ And I said, ‘OK.'»
Connor further speculated that the 13 Gardner pieces might have been used as collateral in the mob’s cocaine deals. If a buyer didn’t have enough cash to lay down for a big haul, the seller could “hold the art (worth millions) until they’re reimbursed for whatever the value of the cocaine is.” This might have been the motive, but it didn’t narrow down the list of suspects. Among those now known to have been investigated were mobsters like Robert Guarente, Robert Gentile, and James “Whitey” Bulger, and then there was William P. Youngworth, a petty criminal who claimed he could recover 11 of the pieces in 2013. Yet no charges were filed.
Where the trail runs cold
In criminal investigation, the key to uncovering the story and building a case requires means, motive, and opportunity. The means and opportunity are both fairly clear. But what has remained a mystery is the motive, beyond getting their hands on something of insane value. That’s where the trail runs cold.
For law enforcement to figure out the ‘who’, they needed to understand the ‘why’. The problem being the ‘why’ has since become muddled with far-flung and fantastical theories involving the Boston Mafia, the IRA, potentially Whitey Bulger, and prison breaks. To make things even more difficult, aside from witness descriptions of one thief being “about 5’9″–5’10” in his late 30s with a medium build” and the other as “6’–6’1″ in his early 30s with a heavier build” – there really are no further leads. No useful DNA evidence. No fingerprints that match with any suspects. Not even a convincing accusation that hasn’t been shot down by an iron-clad alibi.
One prevailing theory is that a gangster by the name of Bobby Donati orchestrated the heist in an effort to negotiate the release of his boss from prison. The chances of verifying this have since diminished significantly, as Donati was murdered a year after the robbery due to a gang war within the Patriarca crime family.
Yet another theory – which has a bit more weight in the conversation given its advocacy by individuals such as former Scotland Yard detective turned private investigator, Charles Hill – points to James ‘Whitey’ Bulger as the key to it all. Bulger was the most powerful criminal figure in Boston at the time of the heist, and Hill believes the haul was handed over to an IRA-affiliated gang in Ireland as part of some deal. Bulger also had a strong connection with the local police force, which would explain how the thieves acquired bona fide uniforms. Though he obviously claimed to have no knowledge of the theft and even feigned outrage as it occurred on this ‘turf’ without proper tribute being paid. The chances of verifying this has also diminished significantly, as Bulger was murdered in prison while serving his sentence two years ago.
The point is, if you take the time to search independently, you’ll find virtually endless branches of theories and suspects. None of which have ever been proven nor further illuminated the issue at hand.
10 – She Dictated Every Detail in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Even After Her Death
In July 1924, Isabella suffered a heart attack and died. In her will she stated that her home should serve as a public museum forever, with one important additional stipulation. No changes may be made. That means no art can be sold, no art can be added, and nothing can be moved. The draperies, furniture, and every piece of art remain in exactly the same spot where they were on the fateful day that Isabella perished.
On the plus side, visitors to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are treated to the viewing experience personally established by the fiery redhead. On the downside after the bizarre theft of $500 million from the museum in 1990, empty frames haunt some walls of the museum.
8 – She Found Another Way to Mend a Broken Heart
When Isabella lost her beloved husband in December 1898, she inherited an estate valued at $3.6 million (about $104 million in today’s dollars.) Instead of a long trip to Europe, Isabella acquired land at the intersection of Fenway and Worthington and began orchestrating the design and construction of a Venetian-style palace that would ultimately become the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. To keep herself busy, she oversaw every detail of its construction, including instructing the Italian artisans who plastered the ceilings and cornices in her fluent Italian. Upon its completion, Isabella lived on the fourth floor and personally arranged the art galleries on the other three floors.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Heist in Pop Culture
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist has inspired individuals to create books, shows, and podcasts.
The three of note include:
- The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft: This true crime book by Ulrich Boser details a riveting account of the unsolved heist.
- Last Seen: This true crime podcast by the Boston Globe discusses the confounding art heist.
- This Is A Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist: This 2021 Netflix documentary series was directed by Colin Barnicle and co-produced along with his brother Nick Barnicle. Colin Barnicle and Nick Barnicle hoped to create awareness about the theft in hopes that more information would come forward.
The Gardner Museum heist is by far the most prolific art crime ever. But there have been other famous heists throughout history.
Who Stole The Art from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum?
Though the art heist remains unsolved, there is speculation about the identities of the thieves. These are among the most popular theories.
Christ in The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, 1632
1. Security Guard Rick Abath
The original theory was that Rick Abath played some role in the theft.
Why? Art crimes of this nature typically require an inside source.Security footage showed Abath opening and closing the door where the suspected thieves had entered.
Another suspicious factor was that the museum’s motion detectors did not signal during the time of the theft. In 2015, the FBI released security footage from March 17, the night before the robbery, of Abath buzzing in an unidentified man with an upturned collar.
A New York Times reporter stated in 2015 that the police eventually cleared Abath as a person of interest.
2. Boston Crime Boss Whitey Bulger
At the time, Whitey Bulger was heading the Winter Hill Gang. He had strong links to the Boston PD, which could explain how the two thieves obtained police uniforms.
But Bulger stated he did not commit the art heist, and even sent some of his agents to figure out who committed the robbery on his ‘turf.’
3. The Boston Mafia
In 2013, the FBI announced that it had high confidence members of the Boston Mafia, run by Carmello Merlino, committed the crime.
They were confident that the stolen art was transported to Connecticut and Philadelphia during the years after the theft. The FBI even discovered the culprits attempted a sale in 2002 in Philadelphia. However, the trail went cold shortly after.
4. Robert Guarente (a.k.a Bobby Guarente)
Bobby Guarente was an associate of the Merlino gang, but died from cancer in 2004. Interestingly, in 2010, his widow Elene Guarente told the FBI that Bobby had owned some paintings. But after he got sick, he gave them to a friend for safekeeping.
5. Robert Gentile
According to Elene Guarente, the friend Bobby had allegedly given the paintings to was Robert Gentile (another Merlino gang associate). Robert maintained he did not know this.
The FBI searched his home and found a March 1990 copy of the Boston Herald detailing the theft, along with a piece of paper showing how much each piece might be worth on the black market. The FBI found no concrete evidence linking Robert to the heist.
6. David Turner
In 1992, Merlino contacted his associate David Turner.
Why? Merlino was arrested for drug trafficking. And, in an attempt to gain a reduced prison sentence, he told the authorities he could get the stolen paintings.David was tasked to find them, but he couldn’t track them down. Nevertheless, authorities believed David could’ve been one of the thieves on that fateful night.
7. George Reissfelder
The FBI believed that George Reissfelder, who died in 1991, could’ve been the second accomplice. His sibling revealed they saw a painting similar to the Chez Tortoni in George’s bedroom, but a search yielded nothing.
8. Bobby Donati
Bobby Donati was a criminal who was murdered in 1991. He got on the FBI’s radar after notorious art thief Myles Connor Jr. claimed Bobby Donati and David Houghton (who died in 1992) were the culprits.
Myles Connor was incarcerated during the heist but shared that he’d previously worked with Donati. The two had even scouted the Gardner Museum, and Donati had been interested in the Eagle finial.
What’s more?
Houghton had visited Connor in prison. He’d told Connor the duo had organized the heist and would use the paintings to get Connor out of jail.
Fast forward to 1994: Anne Hawley, the Gardner Museum director, was sent an anonymous letter.
The letter’s contents?
It said that the art was stolen to reduce a prison sentence, but the opportunity had passed. So the writer wished to negotiate its return for immunity and $2.6 million. If the museum agreed, they had to print a coded message in the Boston Globe.
Anne Hawley immediately contacted the FBI, and the Boston Globe printed the coded message.
Shortly after, Hawley received an anonymous letter of acknowledgement. But, the writer was worried about the FBI’s involvement and needed time to re-evaluate options. Hawley never heard from them again.
ОГРАБЛЕНИЕ МУЗЕЯ ГАРДНЕР
(THE ROBBERY OF THE GARDNER MUSEUM)
Изабелла Стюарт удачно вышла в 1860 году замуж за миллионера Джека Лоуэлла Гарднера II. С тех пор она стала именоваться Изабелла Стюарт Гарднер (Isabella Stewart Gardner ). Однако семейную жизнь четы миллионеров омрачила ранняя смерть их единственно сына. С той поры Изабелла и Джее решили свою дальнейшую жизнь путешествовать и заниматься коллекционированием.
А после смерти супруга Изабелла в 1903 году основала в Бостоне собственную художественную галере, позже названную ее именем.
18 марта 1990 года в 1 час 24 минуты ночи охранник музея Изабеллы Стюарт Гарднер увидел на дисплее устройства, контролировавшего боковой вход в здание, двух затянутых в ремни и поблескивающих бляхами полицейских. Охранник открыл дверь и впустил стражей порядка в музей. Они объяснили, что в полицию поступил сигнал о попытке ограбления и необходимо срочно обыскать здание. По требованию полицейских охранник вызвал по радио своего напарника, который в это время был на обходе музея. И в результате, вскоре оба охранника оказались в наручниках с заклеенным лентой ртами. А лжеполицейские спокойно и деловито приступили к краже картин. За час с небольшим они вырезали из рам две картины Рембрандта: «Дама и господин в чёрном» и «Шторм в Галилее» (единственный морской пейзаж художника), одно полотно Эдуарда Мане, пять рисунков и акварелей Дега и, наконец, жемчужину музейной коллекции – картину Вермеера из Делфта «Концерт». Большой автопортрет молодого Рембрандта в шляпе с пером, написанный на доске, воры сняли со стены, но решив, что тот слишком тяжёлый, бросили его. Затем они безуспешно пытались открыть витрину, где хранилось боевое знамя наполеоновской гвардии. Но гвардия грабителям не слалась. Однако те компенсировали свою неудачу со знаменем императорским орлом, украшавшим витрину.
Прихватив ещё один офорт Рембрандта и бронзовый китайский кубок, датированный 1200 г. до н. э., а также все кассеты из видеокамер, грабители покинули музей.
Только пять часов спустя пришедшие на службу сотрудники музея обнаружили кражу и охранников, которые были прикованы к трубе отопления в подвале. По подсчётам экспертов, общая стоимость похищенного составила около 300 миллионов долларов.
Одного Вермеера оценили в 100 миллионов. Так, что ограбление музея Изабеллы Стюарт Гарднер стало самым крупным музейным ограблением второй половины ХХ века. А главное оно осталось нераскрытым, несмотря на объявленную награду в 5 миллионов долларов за сведения о местонахождении шедевров.
Особенно тщательно прорабатывалась версия о том, что организовал похищение и руководил им из тюремной камеры знаменитый специалист по кражам произведений искусства Майлз Коннор, отбывавший срок по другим делам. Через семь лет, когда власти признали, что расследование зашло в тупик, администрация музея увеличила вознаграждение в пять раз. Вскоре бостонский торговец антиквариатом Уильям Янгуорт заявил репортерам, что готов указать местонахождение полотен за назначенное вознаграждение при условии, что ему будет гарантирована личная неприкосновенность, а Коннора выпустят на свободу. В доказательство того, что он действительно знает, где находятся полотна, Янгуорт предоставил специалистам копии фрагментов похищенного полотна Рембрандта. Однако исследование показало, что к украденному шедевру они никакого отношения не имеют. Ни одна из 13 похищенных картин до сих пор не найдена.
Спустя 23 года ФБР объявило, что преступление раскрыто. Только раскрыто оно было как-то странно преступники не задержаны, картины не изъяты. Просто ФБР заявило, что установило личности грабителей, принадлежащих к некоей известной организованной группировке, и выяснило, что часть похищенных картин была перевезена в Коннектикут, и еще часть — в Филадельфию.
В музее Гарднер напоминанием об этой истории остались 13 пустых рам, поскольку Изабелла в завещании строго настрого запретила перемещать экспонаты.
Олег Логинов
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was not insured for theft, despite an FBI warning that it was being cased.
Two years before the heist, the museum board was informed that the FBI had thwarted a plot to steal from the Gardner Museum—so it might seem strange they hadn’t invested in theft insurance. Days after the heist, The New York Times detailed two very good reasons why the museum might have opted to forgo insurance, the first one being cost. «The Gardner Museum’s annual operating budget is $2.8 million,” museum spokesperson Barry Wanger told the paper, “while the cost of theft insurance could run to $3 million or more a year.»
The Washington Post reported that remaining uninsured was a common practice among museums, writing that, “Many museums carry no insurance on their collections, according to experts, because the objects are irreplaceable and many museum directors prefer to spend the tens of thousands they would need for premiums on salaries for extra guards.»
The other reason was Gardner’s will. The purpose of theft insurance is to give a museum money so they might replace the lost artwork with something of like value. However, The New York Times reporter Fox Butterfield wrote that “Mrs. Gardner’s strictly worded will specifies that the museum may not buy new or substitute works of art and so would not be allowed to replace stolen paintings even if the museum had insurance.»
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, the largest private property theft in world history, may remain unsolved as its last living suspect has died.
David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesAn empty frame where Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee once was placed.
On March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as policemen broke into a Boston art museum, tied up the guards, and stole 13 paintings right off the walls. The infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist has since been hailed one of the most devastating thefts of private property in art history.
Decades later, $500 million worth of masterpieces — Rembrandts, Vermeers, and sketches by Degas — are still missing. In the aftermath of the Boston art heist, authorities considered a complex web of suspects, but the investigation ultimately failed to pin the crime on anyone in particular.
Now, one of the last alleged links to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, a mobster named Robert Gentile, has died. Once, he led police to believe that they had the Gardner Museum heist solved, but he took anything he knew about the theft with him to the grave.
Инструкция — наше всё!
Охранник музея Ричард (Рик) Эбот открыл полицейским дверь, нарушив тем самым служебную инструкцию, запрещавшую впускать посторонних в ночное время. Гости перешагнули порог. Один из полицейских (35–40 лет, рост примерно 175–178 см, нормального телосложения, носит очки в оправе золотого цвета и усы, возможно фальшивые) спросил Эбота, есть ли в музее кто-то еще.
Узнав о том, что второй охранник ушел в обход, он приказал срочно вызвать его на пост. После этого полицейский сказал Рику: «Твое лицо мне знакомо. Похоже, у нас есть ордер на твой арест. Подойди сюда и покажи удостоверение личности».
Рик вышел из будки охраны, в которой находилась тревожная кнопка для вызова полиции. И во второй раз нарушил служебную инструкцию. Эбот протянул полицейскому свои документы — водительские права и студенческий билет. Позже он объяснял: испугался, что его арестуют, а это было бы очень некстати, ведь у него был билет на концерт группы The Grateful Dead на следующий вечер.
У Рика были основания опасаться стражей закона: он регулярно выходил на дежурство пьяным или обкуренным марихуаной, надеясь, что за смену все выветрится. Однажды его смена выпала на новогоднюю ночь, и он тайно провел в музей нескольких друзей, устроив вечеринку с алкоголем и легкими наркотиками прямо среди картин.
Эботу приказали встать лицом к стене, после чего надели на него наручники. Когда появился второй охранник, Рэнди Хестенд, ему тоже надели наручники. «За что вы меня арестовали?» — возмутился Хестенд. И услышал в ответ: «Тебя не арестовали. Это ограбление. Не создавайте нам проблем, и мы не причиним вам вреда…»
Охранников отвели в подвал и оставили их там, приковав к колоннам, замотав головы и заклеив глаза скотчем.
Ограбление заняло у преступников 40 минут. Они действовали быстро и грубо, вырезая и выбивая картины из рам. Грабители забрали работы Рембрандта, Вермеера, Мане и Флинка, наброски Дега и др.