The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft

EAN:9780061451836 Label:Collins Author:Ulrich Boser Binding:Hardcover

There are only a few books about true events which keep you on the edge of your seat Riveting.. "All the President's Men" was one2009-03-17 Rating 5. This book is another. Beautifully written, excitingly paced, with a fascinating subject, this author has either narrowed the search for the thieves or done great investigative work that may lead to their identification and/or prosecution. The various characters' love for the artwork itself is a strong motivating force. . Several iconic paintings were stolen from the Gardner Museum in 1990 and they've never been recovered nor the perpetrators caught What a loss. At least they were not caught for this crime2009-03-16 Rating 3. I still can't quite get past the thieves cutting the paintings from their frames! Dang it if you're gonna heist something beautiful at least treat it with respect. I'd always assumed art was well protected and that when it was stolen it was stolen for or by someone who craved and treasured it. Boser says this is not true. Until recently museums did not have the funds or maybe even inclination to guard their works with state of the art security measures. Also, often the underworld, not art connoisseurs, steal it and they do so to use as currency to buy arms or drugs. I also suppose they don't know how to store it properly. The Gardner art was easy to steal but it hasn't been easy to catch the thieves. Many people, both law officials and independents, tracked down many leads. In fact there are so many suspects that it's hard to keep all the players straight. For all I know you and I are also suspects and I'm not 100% certain you're in the clear. For the most part Boser does a good job of explaining the evidence. It feels petty to mention this but there are a disconcerting number of typos in this book. . . words left out or words stuck in that don't belong. It was distracting. I enjoyed the last chapter where Boser speculates and tries to make sense of this crime. What a loss that the Vermeer and the Rembrandt's have been lost possibly for good. Shortly after midnight 3/18/90, two men broke into a Boston museum and committed the largest art heist in history - a dozen masterpieces worth a total of $500 million Boring, Incomplete, and of Dubious Provenance. The thieves were disguised as Boston cops, were let in by the museum watchmen, and left 81 minutes later after they finished loading the last of their loot2009-03-12 Rating 2. No one has been charged, and the loot is still missing. The average art theft recovery rate is about 5%; the author picks up the case after a leading art detective, Harold Smith, with a 15% recovery rate dies in 2005 while pursuing the case. Smith believed the robbers were not expert art thieves - a high-school art student would know that slashing a 400-year-old painting from its frame could destroy the work. On the other hand, they did seem to be experienced thugs - subduing the night watchmen with confidence. Reading "The Gardner Heist" one quickly senses that the author was just filling space and not likely to provide anything definitive. Unfortunately, that proves true. Worse yet, a quick review of Internet sources shows remarkable similarity to material in the book. The statute of limitations has long run out on the Gardner Art theft. The good news is that "The Boston Herald" is launching a substantial effort this Sunday to revive interest in the case and help recover the art. The $5 million reward originally offered still stands. An interesting look at the largest unsolved art robbery Interesting but ultimately unsatisfying. The book does a nice job describing the robbery of the Boston museum and the many investigations that followed and nicely touches upon the history of the museum, other famous art thefts, museum security and the Boston and Irish mobs2009-03-09 Rating 4. The robbery itself was relatively uncomplicated and most of the book focuses on the potential suspects in the case. Unfortunately, it is an unsolved theft and the identity of the thieves is only a supposition and the fate of the artworks is completely unknown. While I enjoyed the book, the lack of any kind of conclusion makes it fundamentally unsatisfying. True page turner about the Gardner art heist from 1990 hard to put down. Very well written and amazing insight into the art underworld2009-03-02 Rating 5. One museum, two thieves, and the Boston underworld—the story behind the lost Gardner masterpieces and the art detective who swore to get them back Shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and committed the largest art heist in history They stole a dozen masterpieces, including one Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five Degas. But after thousands of leads, hundreds of interviews, and a $5-million reward, not a single painting has been recovered