MUSEUM DOUBLES REWARD FOR STOLEN ARTWORK TO US$10M

A Boston museum has doubled its reward to US$10 million for information that leads to the return of 13 works of art stolen in 1990 in the largest art heist in U.S. history. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s board of trustees announced the increase Tuesday. On March 18, 1990, two men disguised as police officers robbed the museum of approximately US$500 million worth of masterpieces. They included Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633), Vermeer’s The Concert (1658–1660); and Govaert Flinck’s Landscape with an Obelisk (1638); and a Chinese vase or Ku. The FBI said in 2015 that the two suspects are now dead. The new US$10-million reward is available immediately but expires at midnight on Dec. 31. “These works of art were purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner for the education and enjoyment of the public forever,” said Steve Kidder, president of the board, in a press release. “It is our fervent hope that by increasing the reward, our resolve is clear that we want the safe return of the works to their rightful place and back in public view.”