Paging Thomas Crown

The thrill of the heist or the prestige of the art, what is it that inspires art theives? The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is looking to get back thirteen works of art stolen from them fifteen years ago this week. The Museum has had one anonymous tip that promised to help them secure the art for $2.6 million ten years ago, but the tip line has been silent ever since. Not a robbery in the style that pilfered Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" last year where two gunmen grabbed works off the wall and just ran out the front door. It wasn’t the adventurous Thomas Crown style slick moves in a movie style heist. The heist was more of a mix of the two. Two men dressed as Boston’s finest walked into the museum and left with 13 works of art, including a two Rembrandt pieces, in what is still one of the largest art robberies in history. Valued at $300 million, Bostonist wants to know how they expect to get the paintings back for a measly $5 million. The Gardner Museum must not be too confident in the masterworks black market value. Well, at least this April Bostonist can go see the movie.

Update:The globe had a special report on the heist this past Sunday. Check it out on the web, it includes a multimedia slideshow and audio. Thanks Katharine!