Philanthropist. She was an American socialite and patron of the arts, best known for founding the Boston art museum that bears her name. If anyone had a vision for making the arts accessible to the people, it was Isabella Stewart Gardner. She was born in 1840 in New York City, the daughter of wealthy businessman David Stewart and socialite Adelia Smith. She was educated privately, and her first tour of Europe in 1854 nurtured what became her lifelong passion: the arts. In 1860, she married wealthy financier John Lowell "Jack" Gardner of Boston. Though her family was socially prominent in New York, she never felt fully accepted by her husband's family and other members of Boston's aristocracy. She developed sensitivity to others who felt alienated, namely artists. When their two-year-old son died in 1865, she was immensely grieved, leading to a deep depression. In response, she traveled to Europe with her husband and again was absorbed by the art there. They returned to Boston in 1868 where "Mrs. Jack" overcame her feelings of grief and soon became, with her lavish parties and spirited discussions, one of Boston society's premier hostesses; she also became a patron of the Boston Symphony. She entertained, gardened, decorated, and traveled, building her creative perspectives and inviting artists, writers, and musicians to their home whenever possible, a tradition that became life-long. Traveling to the Near East and then to Russia, she had become a serious collector of great art by the late 1880s. When her father died in 1891, he left her an inheritance from which she could fund her growing collection. Her collecting career assumed new urgency when her beloved husband died suddenly in 1898. Again, she turned to art for comfort, this time by purchasing the land on which her museum now stands. With the goal of building a museum that would also be her home, she immersed herself in the design and construction project. The building featured Venetian terraces, a four-story courtyard, art and music galleries, a top-floor apartment where she lived, and even a private chapel with decorative arts from the East and West. She installed her collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, rare books, and decorative arts. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened in 1903. For the next 16 years, she continued to add objects. In her will, Gardner bequeathed the museum to the city of Boston as a public institution. There was one condition, however: the collection had to be maintained precisely as Gardner had arranged it. Nothing could be added, removed or rearranged. The museum and its collection, both monuments to personal taste, remain unique to this day. Shortly after Christmas in 1919, she suffered a debilitating stroke, but her spirit remained strong until her death in 1924, at age 84. Her enduring passion for art can be seen in the diverse collection that remains untouched at her home. In March of 1990 the Gardner Museum was robbed of 13 masterpieces worth in the 21st century an estimated $500 million, according to NBC News. Works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Degas were taken. Rembrandt's only seascape, "The Storm in the Sea of Galilee," and Vermeer's "The Concert," could be worth as much as $250 million in the 21st century. None of the works has yet been recovered and the empty frames continue to hang in their original positions. The FBI announced in 2014 that they had identified the two men who were responsible, but since then both suspects have died.