Gardner Museum in Boston to renovate Dutch Room linked to historic art heist
BOSTON - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston is going to renovate the room at the center of one of the largest art heists in history.
Dutch Room renovation
Back on March 18, 1990, 13 pieces of art worth more than $500 million were stolen from the museum. Six of the best known works were taken from the Dutch Room. Among them were two Rembrandt paintings that were cut from their frames. Those frames remain empty on the walls in the Dutch Room to this day.
The crime remains unsolved and the museum says it's time to restore the room because, "time itself has faded much of the gallery's splendor."
📢 One of our most recognizable galleries is getting a facelift. For more than 25 years, we have been dedicated to restoring our historic galleries to their original splendor, as intended by our founder Isabella Stewart Gardner. The Dutch Room is the final major gallery to undergo a complete restoration. The room will remain open throughout the multi-year restoration, and while many objects will be treated in our cutting-edge conservation lab, other initiatives will take place right in the gallery. Visitors will be able to watch as our conservators reupholster the walls with reproduction textiles, refinish the floor tiles, and clean the 16th century painted wood ceiling. Over the next two years, we’ll also be sharing updates, photos, behind-the-scenes peeks, and exciting stories on our website and across our social media. From interviews with the conservators to deep-dives into Isabella’s thought process, you’ll be able to follow along with this remarkable project as it unfolds. Read more about the project: https://www.gardnermuseum.org/dutch-room-restoration?utm_campaign=dutchroom&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=launch
Posted by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on Monday, September 16, 2024
Two-year renovation
The project, which is expected to take more than two years, will include the restoration of paintings, frames, sculptures and furniture in the Dutch Room, as well as the ceiling, tiles and lighting. The frames left behind after the theft will also be restored.
"By early 2027, young Rembrandt will look out over a room beautifully restored, much closer to Isabella's original vision, and ready to welcome back the stolen works when they someday return (we hope and believe) to their rightful home," the museum said in a statement on its website.
The museum says the gallery will stay open during the restoration to give visitors "the unique opportunity to witness conservators at work."
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft
The museum is still offering a $10 million reward for any information that leads to the return of the stolen art.
Several key figures from the night of the heist have died, including security guard Richard Abath, who passed away in February
Investigators said the thieves, who were disguised as Boston police officers, convinced Abath and the other security guard to let them into the museum saying they were called there because of a disturbance.
The guards were tied up as the art was stolen. There have been no arrests.
"I walk by the empty frames every day," Anthony Amore, the museum's director of security, told WBZ-TV back in March, 34 years after the heist.
"I believe that information is going to come in, or I am going to get the stuff first, but one way or another we will get the art back."
The Gardner Museum will update the progress of the renovations on its Facebook page.