A month ago, a group of three thieves stunned the art world by stealing invaluable artifacts from the Louvre in Paris. They spent few minutes to rob nine major pieces of jewellery from the crowns of France, including a necklace, a brooch, and the crown of Empress Eugénie. That crown was recovered the same day in a street close to the Louvre but in a damaged condition. While the authorities have arrested several suspects, they are still working on retrieving the stolen jewels.

Although this theft is one of the most audacious art heists in recent memory, it is far from the only one. So, we’ve gathered a list of the most impressive museum heists which have captivated the public imagination. Each theft has left behind a trail of mystery and intrigue, and even though some stolen art pieces have been recovered, many remain missing.

The Mona Lisa Theft

Date: August 21, 1911
Museum: Louvre in Paris, France
Stolen Artworks: Mona Lisa (c. 1503) by Leonardo da Vinci

In 1911, the Mona Lisa wasn’t the most well-known artwork in the world yet until a theft cemented its fame. The artwork was stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian handyman who built the painting’s glass case. He committed the theft by entering the building during opening hours, hiding in a closet and then scurried away with the work concealed under his coat. The theft went unnoticed for one day, and the museum had to close for a week for investigation. The heist became quickly a worldwide sensation, making headline of multiple international newspapers. After some confusion about the culprit’s identity, the painting was found two years later, when Peruggia tried to sell it to a Florentine dealer. He was promptly caught and the Mona Lisa returned to the Louvre. Peruggia believed that he was aiding in cultural repatriation, having thought that the painting was plundered by Napoleon. He finally spent seven months in jail for the crime and was hailed for his patriotism in Italy.

The Skylight Caper

Date: September 4, 1972
Museum: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in Montreal, Canada
Stolen Artworks: Works by Courbet, Millet, Delacroix, Rubens, and Rembrandt amongst others

In the early hours of the Labour Day in 1972, a group of three men entered the MMFA, the oldest and largest art museum in Canada. They went through a skylight which was covered by a plastic sheet because of ongoing renovation. Once inside, they bound and gagged three guards who were on duty that night. Although it took them over an hour to get in, the thieves spent 30 minutes gathering paintings and artifacts. They had selected a dozen paintings from those hanging on the walls, but they were interrupted when an alarm went off. They fled through the side doors with what they could carry – 39 jewellery objects and 18 paintings including works by Delacroix, Courbet, Rubens, and Rembrandt. The haul was worth a total of $2 million USD at the time with the Rembrandt’s landscape alone was valued at $1 million. Two art pieces were returned within months of the theft, during the initial ransom negotiations. Since then, no other works have been found and no legal action has been taken.

The Gardner Robbery

Date: March 18, 1990
Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, United States
Stolen Artworks: Works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Manet, and Degas amongst others

In 1990, on the day following the Saint Patrick’s Day, two men posing as police officers managed to enter the museum, tied up the security guards, and spent an hour looting the building. They walked away with thirteen artworks worth over $500 million USD including The Concert (c. 1664) by Johannes Vermeer portraying people performing music, and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1963) by Rembrandt van Rijn depicting a boat navigating stormy waters. Despite extensive efforts, their haul was never recovered, and the case remains unsolved as of today. The mystery surrounding this case continues to fascinate people, with some questioning the complicity of the guards, others suggesting the involvement of the mafia, or even the actual destruction of the artworks. Today, empty frames are left on the walls of the Dutch Room gallery as placeholders for the missing works. In 2018, a group of art-loving Bostonians used an augmented reality app to virtually replace the stolen art pieces.

The repeated thefts of The Scream

Date: February 12, 1994 and August 22, 2004
Museum: National Gallery (1994) and Munch Museum (2004) in Oslo, Norway
Stolen Artworks: The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

The Scream has been the target of several thefts and attempted thefts, which has caused damage to the painting. In 1994, two men broke into the National Gallery in Oslo to steal the famous painting, leaving a note in which they joked about the lack of security. Indeed, the painting was moved to another gallery because of the opening festivities for the 1994 Winter Olympics, which was held in Lillehammer near Oslo. In 1996, the painting was found in a hotel near the capital city, and four men were convicted for the heist. In 2004, another version of The Scream (1910) and Madonna (1894) were stolen in broad daylight by masked gunmen at the Munch Museum in Oslo. A passerby captured the thieves as they walked away to their car with the artworks. What happened afterward was subjected to speculation as to whether the paintings were burned or requested by the mafia. In 2006, the paintings were finally recovered and returned to the museum, while six people were arrested and went on trial.

The São Paulo Museum Heist

Date: December 20, 2007
Museum: São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) in São Paulo, Brazil
Stolen Artworks: O Lavrador de Café (1939) by Cândido Portinari, and the Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904) by Pablo Picasso

In 2007, three men broke into the MASP using a hydraulic jack and a crowbar, at the same time when the guards were changing shifts, in the early morning. They spent only three minutes to successfully complete the robbery. The perpetrators stole two paintings by Cândido Portinari and Pablo Picasso that were considered to be among the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection. Indeed, art experts estimated the paintings to be worth approximately $55 million USD. The MASP was closed for weeks after the theft, and the paintings were recovered after a suspect informed authorities where the works were being kept. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the robbery, for which they had attempted to obtain a large ransom from the museum’s president. The incident revealed the lack of a robust security system and poor security practices such as the absence of collection’s insurance. This prompted the museum management to review and strengthen its security measures.