Franklin Park, Children’s Museum, Arboretum Free on Friday
Find out what's worth knowing in the South End today, Friday, August 2, 2013. South End Patch News
Museum of Fine Arts Free over Memorial Day Weekend
Admission to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will be free all three days of Memorial Day weekend, the museum announced this week. The free days are the museum’s way to celebrate “Boston I Love,” a special set of exhibitions now on display, community art activities and an opportunity to donate to the One Fund. Those special exhibits now on display include “To Boston With Love,” an installation of hundreds of hand-sewn quilt squares with messages of love and peace sent from the around the world, Special Loans from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, three special paintings lent by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in honor of the people of Boston, and Community Art-Making Activity: Boston, I Love, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., where messages of hope, community, and love will be made to contribute to a collaborative project. The MFA will be open from May 25 to May 27 from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. all three days. The offer extends to residents of Boston and visitors. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
FBI: We Know Who Robbed the Gardner Museum
FBI officials announced today they know who committed one of the biggest art heists in history, but they still need the public’s help to locate the 13 missing pieces of art. “The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence in the years after the theft the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft,” said Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston FBI office. “With that same confidence we have identified the thieves who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the mid-Atlantic states and New England.” Officials believe the art was smuggled into Connecticut and eventually made its way into Philadelphia. At that point, the trail for the missing masterpieces goes cold. The FBI believes an organized-crime organization based in the mid-Atlantic states coordinated the crime. Because the investigation is still ongoing, the FBI noted they could not release further details into the identities of the suspects. FBI officials also noted that the statue of limitations has passed on the original crime, the thefts of the painting, but there is still potential criminal liability for concelaning the paintings or possessing stolen property. However, U.S. Attorney General Carmen Ortiz noted that immunity is on the table for anyone who contributes information leading to the discovery of the paintings. To help keep the public in the process, the bureau launched a new Gardner heist website. The site features sketches of the thieves, images of the lost art, background on the crime and information for anyone who want to contact the FBI with new information about the crime. Monday was the 23rd anniversary of the heist, which took place in 1990. According to the Museum’s own history of the theft, the robbers dressed as police officers and asked a security guard to let them in. “Once inside, the thieves asked that the guard come around from behind the desk, claiming that they recognized him and that there was a warrant out for his arrest. The guard walked away from the desk and away from the only alarm button,” wrote the museum on its website. The thieves then had the guard, Richard Abath, call the second guard on duty and the two were separated and bound. The thieves took 13 pieces of art, including works by Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Govaert Flinck, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet. In recent months, however, the security guard, once thought a hapless victim, has come under closer scrutiny, according to The Boston Globe. Richard Abath was found bound by duct tape and handcuffs […]