The Practice Run: How a Failed Art Heist Provided a Blueprint for the World's Largest Art Robbery

On Saint Patrick's Day, 1990, one of the largest art thefts in the world took place-the heist of Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in which thirteen works of art, worth over half a billion dollars, were stolen by two thieves posing as policemen. Had there been a prior practice run for this theft? Ten years earlier, two thieves posing as delivery men were thwarted in their attempt of a nearly identical robbery at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York-an art museum modeled after the one in Boston. The young mastermind of these crimes was Brian McDevitt of Swampscott, Massachusetts. He arrived in the small NY town in the spring of 1980, posing as a rich Vanderbilt heir and freelance writer. Prior to his failed heist he spent two months ingratiating himself to the museum's director, the author of this story, in hopes of extracting vital information that would aid in his crime. The book investigates the planning and execution of The Hyde's attempted robbery and traces McDevitt's various escapades following his jail sentences in New York State and Massachusetts. After the Boston heist, he fled to Hollywood, California, masquerading as a screenwriter. When word of his criminal past hit the West Coast, he hightailed it to South America to avoid extradition, where he mysteriously died. FBI and Gardner Museum officials act skeptical about McDevitt's association with the heist, yet they claim the perpetrators have been identified and are deceased, raising suspicion that McDevitt may be in the witness protection program. This story also explores the fascinating history of these two rather impoverished sister museums with art collections of international renown as well as their vulnerable public exposure following the heists. Even more fascinating is the possibility that a single individual might have been the mastermind of both crimes.

Author: Frederick J. Fisher
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 05/15/2025
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9798881805951


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 05/01/2025 pg. 7

About the Author
Frederick J. Fisher is retired museum professional. He received his bachelor's degree from Portland State University, Portland, Oregon and his master's degree (art history with a museum internship at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art) from George Washington University, Washington, DC. Among his museum positions were, assistant to the director of the Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, executive director of The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York and executive director of the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, Washington, DC. Both The Hyde and Hillwood are art collector homes with collections of international significance which under Fisher's leadership were upgraded professionally including being accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, establishing research and publication programs and physical plant restoration and enhancements. While this is his first book, he has contributed to numerous museum catalogs and publications. He and his wife live in Gettysbu