Arthur Brand, a private Dutch investigator known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world” is making headlines once again. This time, it’s because of a “CBS This Morning” news segment in which he claims scientific certainty that a half-billion-dollar trove of paintings stolen in 1990 is currently secreted in Ireland.
“I’m 100 percent sure that they are in Ireland. Hundred percent sure. No doubt in my mind,” Brand told interviewer Seth Doane.
He says he has “leads” that point him to the current whereabouts of the masterpieces, taken 27 years ago during a nighttime heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston. And these leads point him to the Irish Republican Army, or IRA.
“We have had talks with… former members of the IRA—and after a few Guinnesses, after a few talks—you can see in their eyes that they know more,” Brand claims.
The FBI and Gardner security director Anthony Amore reportedly still believe the paintings are in the US.
artnet News reached out to Amore following the most recent round of headlines. In an email this morning, Amore said: “We have explored all of the angles Arthur has mentioned many years ago, to their natural conclusion. Today, there is not one scintilla of evidence pointing to Ireland or the IRA. If Arthur has some new to share, I am always happy to listen.”