Netflix just released a docuseries about the biggest art heist in history and it looks wild

They stole art worth half a billion dollars and many suspects have mysteriously ended up dead


Netflix is back at it again with another completely wild true crime documentary series. This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist is all about just that, and the case has a huge $10million reward for information dangling over it.

Picture the scene: It was the biggest art heist in history. Over St. Patrick’s Day weekend in 1990, legendary works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and others worth over half a billion dollars were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The new four-part documentary series covers the leads, dead ends, lucky breaks and speculations that characterised the investigation of this still unsolved mystery.

Here’s everything you need to know about the absolutely crazy story and series.

This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist, Netflix, true crime, documentary, series

via Netflix

This Is a Robbery looks into an unsolved art heist worth half a billion dollars

This Is A Robbery covers what has been called the biggest art heist in history. In Boston in 1990, two men dressed as police officers turned up a the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and were allowed in by guards, before quite simply announcing: “Gentlemen, this is a robbery”.

The guards say they had their mouths taped and were placed in handcuffs whilst the robbery took place. It lasted 81 minutes and 13 pieces were taken, most notably Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black – both of which were physically cut from their frames.

This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist, Netflix, true crime, documentary, series

via Netflix

The museum has a page on its website about the heist, where it states: “The thieves departed at 2:45am, after making two separate trips to their car with the artwork. The guards remained handcuffed until police arrived at 8:15am.”

Thirty years on, the robbers are yet to be identified. A sort of memorial for the art work has been set up at the museum, with the empty frames still hanging as “symbols of hope awaiting their return”, says the museum.

This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist, Netflix, true crime, documentary, series

Anne Hawley (Director Emerita, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum) speaking to the press after the robbery took place, via Netflix

The two main suspects are the Irish mob or the Italian mob and the trailer for the Netflix series reveals that lots of people who have become suspects in the case have mysteriously ended up dead.

The museum currently has a $10million reward in exchange for information leading directly to the safe return of the stolen works.

Watch the trailer for This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist on Netflix here:

This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, quizzes, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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