North America · United States
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
A Venetian-style palace in Boston with a sunny courtyard garden was built to hold one woman's art collection, from Titian and Botticelli to Sargent. Her will says nothing may be changed, so empty frames still hang where paintings were stolen.
History of the museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner, a rich Bostonian, collected art on her travels and built the palace to show it. It opened in 1903. When she died in 1924, her will required that the arrangement be kept as it was. In 1990 thieves disguised as police officers stole 13 works, including a Vermeer and a Rembrandt, and they have never been found, so the empty frames are still on the walls.
Top pieces
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The Concert Johannes Vermeer, 1663 -
The Rape of Europa Titian, 1560 -
The Story of Lucretia Sandro Botticelli, 1500
