15,8040 days later the search is still on for thieves who absconded with $2 million worth of art by bursting through the Sherbrooke Street Montreal Museum of Fine Arts through the skylight on Sept. 4, 1972.
Coolopolis says it's time to nail this sucker shut.
Confessions are welcome in the comments section.
The theft, Canada's largest-ever art heist, was buried by larger stories, including a fire that killed 37 at the Wagon Wheel, the Palestinian attack on Israeli athletes and the historic Russia-Canada hockey series, which started off with a humiliating loss in Montreal.
But Coolopolis aims at solving this crime perpetrated by a pair of long haired thieves, both standing about 5'6", wearing ski-masks enter via a rope from the skylight.
The skylight was usually rigged with alarms but it was under construction at the time.
![]()
The two were toting saw off shotguns and one spoke French, the other English.
It was 1:30 a.m. when they confronted a guard on his way to make tea, ordering him to lie on his stomach.
He didn't immediately comply so one of the thieves shot into the air, which got the attention of two other guards, who rushed to the scene but were immediately apprehended.
In hindsight one of them should have called the police, of course.
The thieves took about 30 minutes to load a number of paintings into a panel truck outside, including small-sized Rembrandt's small Landscape with Cottages valued at $1 million alone
The thieves triggered an alarm on the way to the car, so they fled without taking the 39 other paintings they had lined up to load, which were apparently worth far more than the ones they took.
The thieves were soon in contact, asking 25 percent of the value of the paintings, which they estimated to be $500,000. They later halved their demand to $250,000.
The thieves were asked to offer proof of having the paintings, so they left Breughel's Landscape With Buildings and Wagon in a locker at Central Station.
That was the only stolen piece ever recovered.
The thieves were negotiating with museum director David Giles Carter, who was working closely with police, who were unable to trace the phone calls.
Carter offered to send an insurance adjuster to purchase one of the paintings but the criminals spotted a police car and caught on to the ruse, as the insurance adjuster was really a cop.
The next year an anonymous caller offered information on the paintings in return for $10,000 but he too turned skittish after detecting police.
In 1992 an article suggested the the value of the paintings had risen to $20 million. A reward of $100,000 was standing. In Montreal police raised that reward offer to $1 million.
In later years focused their attention on a man named Smith but nothing came of that.
There was some mention that the works might be on the walls of West End Gang member's vacation homes in Costa Rica, according to Catherine Schofield Sezgin, who has written several excellent short pieces about the thefts.
Here are the lost pieces in case you ever stumble over them.
Coolopolis says it's time to nail this sucker shut.
Confessions are welcome in the comments section.
The theft, Canada's largest-ever art heist, was buried by larger stories, including a fire that killed 37 at the Wagon Wheel, the Palestinian attack on Israeli athletes and the historic Russia-Canada hockey series, which started off with a humiliating loss in Montreal.
But Coolopolis aims at solving this crime perpetrated by a pair of long haired thieves, both standing about 5'6", wearing ski-masks enter via a rope from the skylight.
The skylight was usually rigged with alarms but it was under construction at the time.
The two were toting saw off shotguns and one spoke French, the other English.It was 1:30 a.m. when they confronted a guard on his way to make tea, ordering him to lie on his stomach.
He didn't immediately comply so one of the thieves shot into the air, which got the attention of two other guards, who rushed to the scene but were immediately apprehended.
In hindsight one of them should have called the police, of course.
The thieves took about 30 minutes to load a number of paintings into a panel truck outside, including small-sized Rembrandt's small Landscape with Cottages valued at $1 million alone
The thieves triggered an alarm on the way to the car, so they fled without taking the 39 other paintings they had lined up to load, which were apparently worth far more than the ones they took.
The thieves were soon in contact, asking 25 percent of the value of the paintings, which they estimated to be $500,000. They later halved their demand to $250,000.
The thieves were asked to offer proof of having the paintings, so they left Breughel's Landscape With Buildings and Wagon in a locker at Central Station.
That was the only stolen piece ever recovered.
The thieves were negotiating with museum director David Giles Carter, who was working closely with police, who were unable to trace the phone calls.
Carter offered to send an insurance adjuster to purchase one of the paintings but the criminals spotted a police car and caught on to the ruse, as the insurance adjuster was really a cop.
The next year an anonymous caller offered information on the paintings in return for $10,000 but he too turned skittish after detecting police.
In 1992 an article suggested the the value of the paintings had risen to $20 million. A reward of $100,000 was standing. In Montreal police raised that reward offer to $1 million.
In later years focused their attention on a man named Smith but nothing came of that.
There was some mention that the works might be on the walls of West End Gang member's vacation homes in Costa Rica, according to Catherine Schofield Sezgin, who has written several excellent short pieces about the thefts.
Here are the lost pieces in case you ever stumble over them.
- Jan Breughel the Elder's Landscape with Vehicles and Cattle an oil on copper
- Breughel's Landscape with buildings and Wagon, oil on copper
- Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot's La Reveuse a la fontaine, oil on canvas,
- Corot's Jeune fille accoudee sur le bras gauche oil on canvas
- Gustave Courbet's Landscape with Rocks and Sream, oil oncanvas,
- Honore Daumier's Head, oil on wood panel
- Ferdinan-Victor-Eugen Delacroix's Lionne et Lion dans leur antre, oil on canvas
- Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la perna's La Sociere, oil on canvas
- Thomas Giansborough's Briadier General Sir Robert Fletcher, oil on canvas,
- Jan Davidsz de Heem's Still Life with a Fish, oil on canvas
- de Heemn's Still Life
- Vanias, oil on panel,
- Jean-Francois Millet's La Baratteuse oil on panel
- Millet's Portrait de Madame Millet, oil on canvas,
- Giovanni Battista Piazzetta's Portrait of a Man, oil on canvas,
- Sir Peter Paul Ruben Head of a Young man oil on canvas transferred to panel
- Francois Andre Vincent's Portrait d'un homme, oil on canvas and
- Vincent's Portat d'une dame, oil on canvas
- French 18th century gold watch with enamel decoration, once owned by Jacque Viger's wife
- French 18th century godl memorial ring
- blue enamel latch box set with diamonds, French c. 1860,
- Gold and emerald pendant on woven gold chain, Spanish 17th century
- Spanish 17th century seed pearl necklace caught in loops by silver and diamond clasps with silver and diamond pendant suspended from pearls
- English 19th century necklace of garnets tourmaline and pearls
- English 19th c bracelet of Bacochon garnets and gold
- man's gold watch set in a tortoise shell case by Isaac Rogers, London 1795
- Gold and enamel watch by Pierre Gregson, Paris 178090.
- rare snuff boxes
- small figurines