Missing Masterpieces: Art and Mystery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist saw two thieves posing as police officers steal 13 masterpieces, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Degas. Art historian Laura Morelli explores why these specific pieces—such as Rembrandt’s only seascape and a rare Vermeer—hold exceptional artistic and historical value. She reflects on how their disappearance continues to trouble scholars and the public, and she examines leading theories about the artworks’ fate, underscoring the enduring mystery surrounding one of history’s most significant art thefts. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)