Art: A Boston Theft ReflectsThe Art World's Turmoil

The Art World's Turmoil Bungling burglars get away with two masterpieces and expose the dark side of an inflated industry

In its way, the sensational heist of old-master paintings, including a Vermeer and two Rembrandts, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston last week showed that there is still some respect for the law. All the thieves needed was two rented cops' uniforms and some flimflam at the security entrance on a Saturday night, and -- presto! -- in they walked. They ) immobilized the two night guards, ignored the museum's security system (which was not connected to the police precinct) and then spent two hours pulling paintings off the walls and out of their frames. Then exeunt: a clean...

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