Stolen: a Documentary by Rebecca Dreyfus

Join us as we screen Stolen, a documentary film by Rebecca Dreyfus.

In 1990, in the early morning hours after St. Patrick’s day, thieves

disguised as policemen gained access into Boston’s Isabella Stewart

Gardner museum and successfully executed the largest art heist in modern

history. Among the thirteen priceless works stolen was Vermeer's “The

Concert” one of only 35 of the masters surviving works. To date, not a

single work has been recovered.

Stolen is a full exploration of this unusual crime and the

fascinating, disparate characters involved: from the 19th century Grand

Dame Isabella Gardner to the 17th century Dutch masters to a 21st

century terrorist organization with a penchant for stealing Vermeers.

At the heart of the film, is the unlikely hero Harold Smith, the renowned art detective. Stolen

follows Mr. Smith as he pursues the mystery of the stolen works.

Despite his lifetime battle with skin cancer, the cunning and witty

Smith has made this case his personal obsession, working with what hope

remains. With Mr. Smith as a guide Stolen journeys into the mysterious and surreal world of stolen art and examines the many possibilities as to where the art might be.

Interwoven with Smith's investigation are noted contemporary authors

discussing the power of Vermeer's work, as well as collector Isabella

Stewart Gardner's turn-of-the-century correspondence (read by Blythe

Danner) with her advisor Bernard Berenson (read by Campbell Scott.)

These subplots give the film a larger context and help illuminate just

what the world has lost.

Stolen brings the audience on a journey to understand not just a

crime but also the nature of beauty itself—its fragility and its power.

This event is a part of Somerville Reads, a project that promotes

literacy and community by encouraging people all over the City to read

and discuss books on the same theme.  The 2013 Somerville Reads

selection is The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro.  Copies of The Art Forger in a variety of formats are available at all Somerville Public Library Locations.