Recently, a dozen Warhol paintings mysteriously disappeared from art collector Richard L. Weisman’s home in Los Angeles. The multi-million dollar heist was carried out without any signs of forced entry. In fact, if it weren’t for the conspicuously barren spots on Mr. Weisman’s walls, the perpetrator(s) would have left no evidence at all.

In honor of this supremely ballsy art theft, Manolith is reaching back in time to detail some of the most daring and infamous art heists of all time:

The Gardner Heist

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a world-famous art museum located in Boston. On March 18, 1990, the value of the total contents in the museum instantly plummeted by $300 million, thanks to two professional thieves.

In the early hours of the morning, the criminals gained entry by posing as Boston police officers. Incognito, they then proceeded to “arrest” the two security guards on duty. With the two night guards tied up in the basement, the criminals took their time plucking 13 priceless artworks from their frames – including five Degas paintings and three Rembrandts. After two trips to their car outside, the criminals disappeared. The paintings and thieves are still at large.

Bye Bye, Mona Lisa

Way back in 1911, Vincenzo Perugia was an employee at the Louvre Museum in Paris. As you can guess by his name, Vinny was of Italian descent. In between pizza pies, the immigrant brooded over the fact that the Mona Lisa, painted by Italian-born Leonardo da Vinci, had been relocated to France. So he decided to steal it.

One day after his shift ended, Perugia hid in a room and waited for nightfall. He then proceeded to slink out of the room, evaded detection by the guards, plucked the painting from the wall, and walked out with the Mona Lisa tucked away under his smock. When Perugia eventually contacted an Italian art dealer (Alfredo Geri) two years later, Geri contacted the authorities and Vinny was arrested.

Tourist Grab at Drumlanrig Castle

Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland is home to a large private collection of artwork. The collection is available for public viewing, a fact that criminals exploited in August of 2003 to steal Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder (valued at $65 million).

During a typical Castle tour, two criminals acting as tourists attacked their tour guide, grabbed the masterpiece and bolted from the castle as a gaggle of sightseers looked on. Despite snatching the painting in broad daylight with no masks or other form of cover, they got away scott free. That is, until 2007, when Glasgow police raided a law firm, recovered the painting and charged four individuals with crimes relating to the heist.

Attack on Sweden’s National Museum

A robbery that incorporates machine guns and car bombs? Now that’s ballsy. On December 22, 2000, three men stormed into Sweden’s National Museum. As one thief held up the museum staff with a machine gun, the other two grabbed two Renoirs and a Rembrandt off the walls (valued at $30 million in total). Though the heist only took minutes, the criminals set off two car bombs in other parts of the city as diversions to keep the cops busy. For extra ballsiness, the criminals made their getaway in a speedboat.

However, as it turns out, the criminals were all balls and no brain – days after the heist they contacted the police and requested millions of dollars in ransom money. If the crooks had attended Crime 101, they would have known that this was a bonehead move. Shortly after, eight men were arrested.