This Is A Robbery: The 1990 Museum Art Heist
Netflix's four-part docuseries revisits one of the most valuable unsolved art thefts in American history
In 1990, one of the largest art theft cases in American history unfolded at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where thieves broke in and stole 13 works of art. The 2021 Netflix docuseries This Is A Robbery examines this still-unsolved mystery across four episodes.
The Heist
In a single night, the perpetrators entered the museum and removed 13 artworks, including pieces attributed to Rembrandt and Vermeer. The stolen works have since been valued at several hundred million dollars, making this one of the most valuable unsolved crimes in the history of art crime.
The Series
Directed and produced by Colin Barnicle and Matthew O'Neill, the series draws on interviews with investigators, journalists, and individuals connected to the case. Among the figures examined are Rosemary Gibson, Bobby Donati, Robert Gentile, and Myles Connor.
One of the series' central themes is the theory that the theft was connected to organized crime. Across its four episodes, the documentary follows a range of leads and hypotheses that investigators have pursued over the decades.
Still Unsolved
More than three decades after the theft, none of the 13 artworks have been recovered. The case remains open, and This Is A Robbery adds to the ongoing public and investigative debate about what truly happened that night in Boston.
