1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to you stuff you missed in history class from 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Wilson. I'm gonna do something a little different 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: today for the next few episodes. Do not be alarmed. 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: I'm taking a little bit of time off to handle 6 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: some personal business. Yeah, do not. Is not anything scary. 7 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,880 Speaker 1: Uh No, Tracy just has a busy life and some 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: life things happen in such a way that you got 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: to take a moment and step back and work on those. Yeah. Well, normally, 10 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,279 Speaker 1: what we do when we have when one of us 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: is taking time off or both of us are taking 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: time off, is we record extra episodes and the weeks 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: leading up to it so that everything continues uninterrupted, seamlessly. Yeah. 14 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: That the time did not allow for that. We would 15 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: have had to record like four extra episodes in a week, 16 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: and that is not actually manible. That is how research 17 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: falls apart. Yes, So what we're gonna do for today 18 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: and for a couple more episodes after today, is that 19 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: we are going to talk about some episode updates, Yeah, 20 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: which a lot of people ask for. Yeah, So what 21 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: we're gonna do is we're going to tell you some 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: new information about what's going on. Uh, and then we 23 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: will let you listen to the episode from the archive today. Uh, 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: we are talking about the huge art theft from the 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: Isabella Steward Gardener Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, from our episode 26 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: originally called What's the Highest Value Art Heist in History? 27 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: We get so many letters about this. Yes, so just 28 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: about a year ago we're recording this. In April, the 29 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: FBI informed the press about new developments in the case 30 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: of the art theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, 31 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: and that theft originally took place on March eighteenth. Thieves 32 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: who were dressed as Boston police officers gained entry to 33 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: the museum them that night by basically walking up and 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: saying they were cops. And then they walked off with 35 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: multiple pieces of art, including of her Mere and three 36 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: rem brands. And these were worth about five hundred million dollars. 37 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: And this was such a dramatic and simultaneously simple art 38 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: theft that it has led many museums to dramatically revamp 39 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: their security practices since then. We didn't have much to 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: add to the story back in but it now seems 41 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: like a good time to talk about it. Yeah, so, 42 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: Special Agent Richard de Larier said that the FBI believed 43 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: with quote a high degree of confidence that it knew 44 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: where the art was taken after the theft, as well 45 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: as the identities of the two men who committed the 46 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: original break in. They didn't name the men, however, and 47 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: the location of the art is still unknown. And this 48 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: announcement was also about publicizing the case. The FBI asked 49 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: for the public's help in solving the crime and spread 50 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: the word about the ongoing five million dollar reward for 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: information leading to the recovery of the paintings in good condition. 52 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: That sounds like a huge reward, but remember the value 53 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: of the stolen items was more than five hundred millions. 54 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: So this is where our episode becomes a brief public 55 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: service announcement. The FBI asks for anyone with information about 56 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: this crime to call them at one eight hundred call 57 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: FBI and that's one eight hundred, two to five, five, 58 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: three to four, or to submit tips online at uh 59 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: tips dot FBI dot gov. Before we turn you over 60 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: to Katie and Sarah, who were the original hosts of 61 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to take a brief moment and 62 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: have a word from our sponsor, and now we will 63 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: hand you off to the past a little bit to 64 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: Katie and Sarah uh telling the story of the theft 65 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: and of the museum's founding, and a little bit about 66 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: Isabella Sewer Gardner herself. This episode was originally published on 67 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: May five, so it's a few years back. We hope 68 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: you enjoy it. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 69 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: Katie Lander and I'm Sarah Dowdy, and our story is 70 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: going to start with the highest value art heist in history, 71 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: so that's a pretty good place, right. It's also a 72 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,840 Speaker 1: story about mustaches, and from there it's going to take 73 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: us all the way back to turn of the century 74 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: Boston with a socialite art collector who loves boxing in 75 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: the House of Worth and baseball, and she ends up 76 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: building one of the most beautiful art collections in the country. 77 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: So we have a lot to talk about, something for 78 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: everyone today. So we're going to set our scene, which 79 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It's this quiet, tucked 80 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: away Venetian palace on the Fenway in Boston, and it's 81 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: March eighteenth, as St. Patrick's Day. Revelers are coming back 82 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: on their way home, and at one four a m 83 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: the museum's buzzer sounds. The guards look out to see 84 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: what looks like two Boston policemen outside wearing almost comically 85 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: large mustaches. Uh we kind of thought of the hot 86 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: cops here from arrested development. But the policemen say they 87 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: need to check out a reported disturbance, so the guards 88 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: let them in, but minutes later they're cuffed, bound in 89 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: duct tape, and after shutting off the video cameras, the 90 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: thieves head up to the museum's Dutch room and their 91 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: first target is an early self portrait by Rembrandt, but 92 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: it's a heavy panel in this heavy gilt frame and 93 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: it won't come out, so they just leave that one 94 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: on the floor. The canvas Rembrandts are a little easier 95 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: to deal with, though the thieves slash them out of 96 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: their frames, which it's almost worse than the book of 97 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: Kel's being written in I Think and run off with 98 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee and 99 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,239 Speaker 1: a lady and gentleman in black. Two Rembrandts. They're gone now, 100 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: and next is Vermier's The Concert, which they take from 101 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: an easel, and then a govert flink and then they 102 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,720 Speaker 1: move on with these big works, and they take another Rembrandt, 103 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,679 Speaker 1: a little tiny etching about the size of a postage stamp, 104 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: and a bronze Chinese beaker, before passing by all these 105 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: other amazing works about a Celia raphael A Frangelico, before 106 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: taking five drawings by Digga, And all of this happens 107 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: under the John Singer sergeant portrait of the museum's founder, 108 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: Isabella Stewart Gardner. And Sarah said, in a movie, you 109 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: would have to film it with her eyes and the 110 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: portrait she's watching the whole thing, and then her ghost 111 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: would come and haunt them or something. Um. They try 112 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: to take a flag of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, but they 113 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: can't get it either, so they end up just taking 114 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: the little bronze finneal of an eagle at the top. 115 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: And the final thing they take is the minn A oil, 116 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: which is kind of awesome, by the way, if you 117 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 1: look it up. It's a guy writing in this enormous 118 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 1: top hat. And they don't touch Titian's Europa, even though 119 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: it's the most valuable thing in the museum. So they 120 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: spend ninety minutes inside this whole time, and they tell 121 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: the guards you'll be hearing from us in about a year. 122 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: But now it's twenty years later. There have been offers 123 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: of immunity, a five million dollar reward, and all of 124 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: this art, which is valued at two hundred million to 125 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: five hundred million dollars, is just gone. So how did 126 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: so much priceless art, these old masters, high Renaissance paintings, 127 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: famous American works, a really extensive Asian collection, how did 128 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: they all end up in this beautiful, tiny Venetian mansion 129 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: with a lush enclosed courtyard, fountains and statutory You should 130 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: look it up online. It's really gorgeous. That's because for 131 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: nearly forty years Boston had a really great collector, the 132 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: socialite Isabella Stewart Gardner. And Isabella Stewart was born in 133 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: eighteen forty in New York City and her father was 134 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: a wealthy merchant, and her family even claimed dissent from 135 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: the Royal Stuarts, But that's kind of a dubious claim. 136 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: That's just one of those things that people say, who 137 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't like to be related to American Scots. She was 138 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: educated in private schools in New York and pair US, 139 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: and she befriended Julia Gardner abroad. She eventually married her 140 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: friend's older brother, John L. Gardner, known as Jack in 141 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty and they moved to Beacon Street in Boston together. 142 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: But her entry into the art world was partly brought 143 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: on by a personal tragedy uh Their son, John Gardner 144 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: the third, known as Jackie, died when he was two 145 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: years old of pneumonia, and she falls into a deep 146 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: depression and she gets really sick, and her doctor recommends 147 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: that jack take her traveling, and so they go to 148 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: Scandinavia and Russia and Vienna and Paris, and by the 149 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: time she comes back, she's feeling a lot better. And 150 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: they've also started to pick up little, you know, pretty 151 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: things along the course of their travels and bringing them 152 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: back to their Beacon Hill home. And they don't have 153 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: any more children, although they do raise their three orphaned nephews, 154 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: and they travel even more extensively after that, the Middle East, 155 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: Central Europe, Asia, all around the United States, although perhaps 156 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly considering the museum's design, their favorite spot was Venice, 157 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,959 Speaker 1: where they stayed at the Palazzo Barbara. And Isabella is 158 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: a very social woman too, so don't think of just 159 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: her and her husband off on these private travels all 160 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: the time. The museums archives actually have seven thousand letters 161 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: from one thousand correspondent So she's a busy lady. She's 162 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,719 Speaker 1: really social, but that doesn't mean she's necessarily popular with 163 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: the Boston Brahmin's. She's different. She's got all this traveling, 164 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: she's mingling with American ex pats like Henry James Singer, 165 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: Sergeant James McNeil, Whistler, and she's generally very extravagant, spending 166 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: thousands of dollars on these paintings, Charles Worth clothing and jewels. 167 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: So she's an outsider. Yeah, she's never totally accepted by 168 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: that society, but she's so amazing and she cuts her 169 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: own profile in it. You know, who wouldn't want to 170 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: hang out with her? I know, she's really great. But 171 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: one critic wrote that she was the most dashing of fashions, 172 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,080 Speaker 1: local finishers, who can order the whole symphony orchestra to 173 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: her house for a private musical, So there you go. 174 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: And her taste were really broad. It wasn't just that 175 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: she was interested in art. She was also really into 176 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: the Red Sox and boxing and hockey, Harvard football, and 177 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: horse races. So she had. But it doesn't take long 178 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,559 Speaker 1: for her to get up, you know, beyond picking up 179 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: pretty little souvenirs on her travels and get into really 180 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: serious art collecting. And she does this by the mid 181 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties and starts hanging up all her paintings at 182 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: her Beacon Hill house, leading the extras on chair. So 183 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: I can imagine, just like, oh gosh, where am I 184 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: going to even put this Rembrandt? I just thought. She 185 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: has an advisor to Bernard Berenson, who does a lot 186 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: of her buying, and she has also befriended some influential 187 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: people in the Eastern art world, like Okacora Cucuzo, who's 188 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 1: famous for writing the Book of Tea and helping to 189 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: preserve Japanese artistic styles. Today there's a copy of the 190 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: book at the museum. Her first major old Master purchase 191 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: comes in eight two, and it's of her mere the concert. 192 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: It's eventually stolen in the heist, and it costs her 193 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: just over six thousand dollars. And this is kind of 194 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: weird to think of. Now you I don't know, I 195 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: guess you imagine old Masters paintings always being expensive in 196 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 1: in high demand. But that's not really the case. In 197 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 1: eighteen nine two, this was a pretty progressive purchase, and 198 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: she heads off a trend a few years later. American 199 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: buyers think American industrialists with lots of money or snatching 200 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: up all the Old Master paintings they can, right. And 201 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: you you told me something cool from a book you 202 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: were reading about grain and painting. Yeah, it was a 203 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,719 Speaker 1: book by Cynthia Saltzman called Old Masters New World. I 204 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: think I kind of want to read it now. But 205 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: she said that a lot of this rush on European art, 206 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: and specifically Old Masters works that were being held in 207 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: England came because the English started importing American grain, and 208 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 1: consequently their prices fell in their land value fell. And 209 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: you have all these old lords who aren't making rent anymore, 210 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: earning the pinch. Yeah, And meanwhile, their inheritance taxes are 211 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: going up, their property taxes are going up, and they're 212 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 1: more willing to sell off the old Rembrandt they have 213 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 1: in the manner. And meanwhile, of course we have our 214 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: American tycoons getting fabulously rich but also wanting to cultivate culture. 215 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: It might remind you of our hearst podcast very much hers. 216 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: And because Americans are building all these new big museums, 217 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: they need art to fill them up with. And this 218 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: in turn influences generations of American artists who are able 219 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: to go and see these great works from old masters 220 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: from the Italian Renaissance and not have to go all 221 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: the way to Europe to to see a painting gardeners 222 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: not just about the old masters, though, she's not your 223 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: your average art collector. She wrote to Barons in a 224 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: night and hun read you know, or rather you don't 225 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: know that I adore Giotto and really don't adore rembrand I, 226 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: only like him, And he wrote back, I am not 227 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: anxious to have you own braces of Rembrandts like any 228 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: vulgar millionaire. And Sarah's a big Giotto fan A loves 229 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: this is another point in Isabella's favor um. Her love 230 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,959 Speaker 1: for Italian Renaissance art makes her by Botticelli's Death of 231 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: Lucretia for fifteen thousand dollars, and that's actually the first 232 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: uh Botcelli to come to the United States. And she 233 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: likes contemporary art. We've already mentioned. She's friends with singer 234 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: Sergeant and whistler um, and she sees herself not just 235 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: as a woman decorating her home and kind of fitting 236 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 1: into that um Victorian standard of I don't know, Victorian 237 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,719 Speaker 1: realm for women, but more like a Renaissance patron of 238 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: the arts, kind of like Lauren Yeah, or more specifically 239 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: Isabella dste who we mentioned in our Catherine de Medici podcasts, 240 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 1: and in six her friend Henry James takes her to 241 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: Singer Sergeant's London studio to see Madam X, which is 242 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,960 Speaker 1: of course a very famous and very lovely painting, and 243 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: he does a head on, full body painting of her 244 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: in front of a Venetian brocade, which James describes as 245 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: a Byzantine madonna with a halo, and Sergeant displays it 246 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: as a woman in a enigma. It really does look 247 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: like a halo. The brocade's pattern is directly behind her head. 248 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: It's pretty cool. But after Gardner's husband died in eighteen ninety, 249 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: her collecting took a different turn and she started to 250 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: build a museum and she wanted to make her private space, 251 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: you know, her Beacon Hill home with paintings leaning on chairs, 252 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: into a public space where everybody could come and appreciate 253 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: her works of art, and she helps with the design, 254 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: with the construction. She takes a very active role in 255 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: the building of this museum, and it kind of reminded 256 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: us of the Hearst Castle because it has this mix 257 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 1: of styles. You walk into one room that's decorated in 258 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: a certain way and then into another that's completely different, 259 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: and all of this faces in on a gorgeous courtyard 260 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: with windows and balconies that honestly look like they'd be 261 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: in a capulate. Juliet's going to lean out of one 262 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: of the balconies at any second. And the museum opens 263 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,240 Speaker 1: to the public in nineteen o three, and she has 264 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: a phoenix above the door along with a coat of arms, 265 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: and I guess her own personal motto, which is Simon Prazier, 266 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: which I don't know. I like that it's a pretty 267 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: bold statement to make at the at the gate of 268 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: your museums. And she slows down on the collecting later 269 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: in her life to try to leave the museum with 270 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: a nice endowment. When she died in nineteen four after 271 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: a series of strokes, she'd saved up a million dollars 272 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: for the museum, with enough left over for charitable donations 273 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: for the prevention of cruelty to children into animals, and 274 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: the museum is given to Boston as a public in 275 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: aitution with a catch. Nothing can be changed, rearranged, added, 276 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: or removed, although in two thousand nine a Massachusetts court 277 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: did decide that there could be an addition made by 278 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: Renzo Piano, who did the High Museum edition here in Atlanta. 279 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: So the short story is, if you go to the 280 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: Gardener Museum today, it's going to look exactly like Isabella 281 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: Stuart Gardener intended it to look. It's it's her house, 282 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: it's her museum, except that, of course the ninet thieves 283 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: weren't so kind as to follow her wishes. So when 284 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: you enter the Dutch room there are gaping frames where 285 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: masterpieces should be. So that brings us back to her 286 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 1: heist and the question where our gardeners missing masterpieces and 287 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: there's a good chance that they've actually been destroyed by now. 288 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: When Sarah was explaining this to me, she said that 289 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: sometimes the art was too hot to unload, which I 290 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: love because apparently she has a secret life. It makes 291 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: me sound like a hot I don't know about um, 292 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,360 Speaker 1: but they're probably part of the dark, shadowy art, black market, 293 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: where art is often used as collateral instead of cash 294 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,200 Speaker 1: for drugs and guns, which no idea that art would 295 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: be collateral. But according to Alexander Smith, who worked with 296 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,399 Speaker 1: the Art Loss Register, it keeps this huge, long record 297 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: of all the hundreds of thousands of artworks that are 298 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: missing stolen um she She says that with tighter banking regulations, 299 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: it has become difficult for people to put big chunks 300 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: of money in financial institutions without getting noticed. So now 301 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 1: feeds go out and steal a painting, so it's easy cash, 302 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: I guess. But we want to make it clear that 303 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: most thefts aren't as glamorous as say the two thousand 304 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: two heist in Paraguay where thieves dug in eighty foot tunnel, 305 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: or our gardener heist with the false mustaches, not the 306 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: Thomas Crown affair. According to a Smithsonian article by Robert Pool, 307 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: it's usually just someone with inside access who lifts a 308 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: stored work and walks off, because, of course, most museums 309 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: don't have their whole collection out a lot of looks 310 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: and stories. Imagine a print that's in a museum spacement 311 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: and nobody thinks anyone will notice. Since the Gardener heist 312 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,440 Speaker 1: is ostensibly the highest profile job in the world. There 313 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: have been tons of leads, tips and bizarro theories, some 314 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:27,919 Speaker 1: of which I will tell you. One is that the 315 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: i RA staged it to use as a bargaining chip 316 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 1: for jailed members. And this is another thing. If you 317 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: think of of artworks being used as cash, they can 318 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: also sometimes be used as get out of jail free 319 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: cards because there's the immunity. Yeah, because authorities will want 320 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: to get the artworks back so desperately there they'll offer 321 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: immunity to anybody involved. Another idea is that it was 322 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: planned out by a musician who had performed with Roy 323 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: Orbison before he was nabbed for another theft. Another is 324 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: that the artwork are hidden in Ireland's West Country, which 325 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: is a theory. Yeah, this is very strange. It's a 326 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: theory developed in part because so many of the stolen 327 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: goods were kind of horsey in theme, like the dig 328 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: oust gushes are all equestrian subjects, and since the Irish 329 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: love horse was so much maybe maybe there's a connection. Um. 330 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: Some also have said that it was taken as security 331 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: by Boston crime boss James Whitey Boulger with the help 332 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: of compromised FBI agents. But Sarah, you know a little 333 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: bit more about that one than I do. Well, Boulger 334 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: in the local FBI office did work together. They worked 335 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 1: together to brain down an Italian crime family, which consequently 336 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 1: was also Bulger's main competitor in Boston. But it leads 337 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: to him buying off some of his FBI handlers and 338 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: an FBI supervisor, John Connolly, And Boulger is actually still 339 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives, and he's 340 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: been charged with racketeering, conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and nineteen counts 341 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: of murder. So people think he's the only guy in 342 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: Boston at the time who would have been able to 343 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 1: get those paintings out of the country since he had 344 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: this FBI connection. And our latest word comes from April 345 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 1: two thousand ten and the Boston Globe, and that's that 346 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 1: the FBI was hot on the trail of the art, 347 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: which this time was being held by a Corsican gang. 348 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,640 Speaker 1: But that bureaucratic infighting and an inability for the FBI 349 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: to work with their French counterparts blew the whole thing up. 350 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: So in conclusion, the art is still missing. Um we 351 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: hope that it's being well cared for and that someday 352 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: it will find its way back to its lovely home 353 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,719 Speaker 1: in Boston. Meanwhile, there's plenty of neat stuff to see 354 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,360 Speaker 1: at the museum and now carries much better theft insurance 355 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: and uh a much more intense security system than it 356 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: used to. And another side note, if your name is Isabella, 357 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: you can go to the museum for free. We might 358 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: need to change our names and go visit. And we 359 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: have a quote, our final quote from Barrenson on Gardner, 360 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: which I will let you read Sarah, since she loved 361 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 1: her so much, and that is she lives at a 362 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: rate in intensity and with a reality that makes other 363 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,200 Speaker 1: lives seem pale, thin and shadowy. And that's the final 364 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 1: word on Isabella Stewart Gardner. Okay, so before we wrap 365 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 1: things up, if you are interested in the Isabella Stewart 366 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: Gardner Museum, there are lots and lots of pictures on 367 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: their website, which is at Gardner Museum dot org. You 368 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: can go to their collection page. You can see floor 369 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: plans of what all of the galleries look like. You 370 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: can get a sense of what all of these beautiful, 371 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: beautiful rooms look like a lot of the collection you 372 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: can also see online. So if you are somewhere far 373 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: away from Boston, Massachusetts, but this awesome museum and awesome 374 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: house sound really intrigued to you, you can go to 375 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: the museum's website and get a sense of a little 376 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: of it for yourself, and we will also put a 377 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: link to that in our show notes. If you would 378 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,960 Speaker 1: like to write to us about this or anything else, 379 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: you can. We're at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. 380 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook at facebook dot com, slash miss 381 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,239 Speaker 1: in history and on Twitter at miss in history. Are 382 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: tumbler is miss in history dot tumbler dot com, at 383 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: our conterestes pinterest dot com, slash ms in history. Our 384 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: very own website is at www dot miss in history 385 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: dot com, and our parent website is at how stuff 386 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,120 Speaker 1: works dot com. If you would like to learn more 387 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: about what Holly and I and Katie and Sarah all 388 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: talked about today, you can come to our website, put 389 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: the words Gardner Museum in the search bar, and you 390 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: will find an article called ten Impressive Art Heists, which 391 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: includes the story of this art theft. You can learn 392 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: about all of that and a lot more at how 393 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:59,120 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com for more on this and thousands 394 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 1: of other topics. Does it how stuff works dot com. 395 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: Audible dot com is the leading provider of downloadable digital 396 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible has more than 397 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: one thousand titles to choose from to be downloaded to 398 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: your iPod or MP three player. Go to audible podcast 399 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: dot com slash history to get a free audio book 400 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: download of your choice when you sign up today.