Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Thirteen works gone in eighty-one minutes, and the case is still open.

Collection: Boston: More Stories · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

An empty frame where a stolen painting hung · Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.

Open this place in Peplos Install on iPhone Join the Android test

Already installed? The first button opens this exact place. After installing, return here and tap it.

Open this link on your phone to go to this place in the app.

How to install the early version through TestFlight

Get TestFlight. Tap the button, then go to the App Store from Apple’s page. TestFlight is Apple’s free app for early versions.
Come back here and tap the button again. In TestFlight, accept the invitation and install Peplos.

After installing Peplos, return to this page and tap “Open this place in Peplos”.

How the story begins

The night watchman who let the thieves in was twenty-three years old, and all he did was press a buzzer. In the small hours of March the eighteenth, 1990, two men dressed as police officers came to this museum. The watchman, Rick Abath, later told CNN how it went. "The cops rang the doorbell and they said Boston Police." They spoke of a disturbance on the premises. The guards were under orders to admit no outsiders.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.

Visiting

25 Evans Way, Boston. Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11 to 5, Thursday 11 to 9, Saturday and Sunday 10 to 5, closed Tuesday. Adults $25, seniors $22, students $15, under 18 free (museum site, read 5 November 2026). Free Thursdays 5 to 9 pm. The Dutch Room restoration is due to finish around the end of 2026 (museum blog, 7 July 2026). The room may be stripped and the frames off the walls: ask at the desk.