On Christmas Eve 1978, burglars stole tens of millions worth of paintings from the de Young Museum. This is their story, though the Rembrandt painting they stole ended up being worth little, because Rembrandt didn’t paint it.

When we think “theft” and "Christmas," our thoughts inevitably turn to the infamous French Laundry Christmas wine heist of 2014, where the famed Napa Valley restaurant was robbed of $550,000 worth of fine wine. Those thieves were eventually caught.

But a new KGO retrospective documentary looks back on the Christmas Eve art heist at the de Young Museum in 1978, where thieves made off with four priceless paintings, and got away with it  — though the Rembrandt painting they stole ended up not being worth much, because over the years, historians determined that Rembrandt hadn’t actually painted the thing.

The story is retold in this 23-minute video from KGO. The theft occurred sometime on Christmas Eve between 5 pm, and Christmas Day at 9:15 am, when staff noticed there were four paintings missing from the de Young’s Gallery 12. The burglars' great prize was Rembrandt’s "Portrait of a Rabbi," at the time worth about $1 million, but they also managed to steal "Interior of the Church of St. Lawrence in Rotterdam" by Anthonie de Lorme, "Harbor Scene" by Willem van de Velde, and "River Scene at Night" by Aert van der Neer.

"Security was inadequate, no question," then-deputy director with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Tom Seligman told the KGO documentary crew (de Young officials declined to comment for the documentary). "By today's standards, (it was) infantile."

Children of the 1970s may recall that this was the time of the traveling “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibit, a cultural craze that inspired the Steve Martin pop single “King Tut.” The de Young was covered with scaffolding at the time, in preparations for the exhibit visiting San Francisco.

"We created vulnerabilities with the construction, to be sure," Seligman told KGO. That scaffolding allowed the thieves both their entrance and escape routes.

The clever thieves then pulled seven paintings off the walls, but they only got away with four, because something made them leave much more quickly than planned. And they missed their big payday, leaving behind a real Rembrandt painting ("Portrait of Joris de Caullery") in favor of "Portrait of a Rabbi," which would end up being proven a glorified forgery.

"They're pulling all these paintings off the walls," Western Neighborhoods Project executive director and podcaster Nicole Meldahl said to KGO. “And in the process of removing these pieces, they jostle loose a reflector or a light bulb or something. It crashes, and it spooks them."

But the thieves made it out safely, by using a piece of art as part of their escape plan. A 600-pound 17th-century Dutch cabinet happened to be sitting in the de Young collection, the burglars stacked its shelves to create steps, and escape with their priceless paintings, hopefully to go on and get rich.

They never got caught, but this heist did not make them rich. Notably, the “Rembrandt" painting they stole was proven to not be a Rembrandt in the years after the theft.

And a November 1999 New York Times article covered that whoever had the paintings 21 years later simply decided to give up on them. After several failed restorations, the paintings were merely donated to a gallery in New York while in terrible condition.  

Then-Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco director Harry S. Parker III had a laugh when pointing out to the Times that the thieves stole a fake Rembrandt, and left a real one behind.  

"This reflects poorly on the thieves' connoisseurship," Parker told that paper.

Related: Massive Art Heist Hits Oakland Museum of California, More Than 1,000 Items Stolen [SFist]

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

The de Young Museum is displaying the first ever manga themed exhibition in a major American museum, starting this Saturday, and you better believe that Saturday’s opening event has been declared a “Cosplay Day.”

It was today that I learned that the name of the popular artistic medium manga is Japanese for "pictures run riot." And I learned this upon discovering that the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park is opening a manga-specific exhibit Saturday called Art of Manga, which they’re billing as the “first large-scale exhibition in the Americas to explore manga as an art form.” The big name showing works that have never been seen before in the US is Araki Hirohiko of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fame, though the show will feature nine other artists exhibiting 600 works, in the media of art, comic books, and animated features.

“Through more than 600 drawings by influential manga artists, Art of Manga will enable visitors to gain an understanding of its creative and immersive power and the social impact of manga in the world today,” the de Young says in a release. “Holding an extensive historical Japanese prints collection, the Fine Arts Museums is the first North American museum to highlight in a major exhibition the contemporary Japanese art form which traces its roots back to Japanese painting forms, 18th- and 19th-century woodblock prints and Western comics and satire.”

KGO has a preview of the show in their video segment above, and spoke to the exhibit’s curator.

"What's interesting is that manga that's read in America and manga that's read in Japan is read in Saudi Arabia, is read in Indonesia, is in Malaysia, the same titles are popular throughout the world," curator Nicole Rousmaniere told the station. "You have manga that is aimed towards a female market, you have manga that's aimed towards a male market. There are different stylistic things.”

Not surprisingly, Saturday’s opening (9:30 am - 4:30 pm) has been declared a Cosplay Day for attendees. There are additional Cosplay Days scheduled for Saturday, October 25, and Saturday December 6.

Art of Manga runs September 27, 2025 through Sunday, January 25, 2026, at the de Young Museum. $35 for adults, with discounts for kids, students, and seniors. Tickets here

Related: BART Seeks Artists to Create Anime-Style Mascots [SFist]

Image: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Jewelry thieves looking to pull off one last heist take note: the De Young's Bulgari exhibit opens this weekend, and as drab and poor as that makes us feel, it's the perfect opportunity to indulge in some Elizabeth Taylorish fantasies of 1960's decadence.

A handful of glittery celeb types have already feasted their eyes at the pre-opening party. As Pop Sugar breathlessly points out, it's the first public sighting of Kate Bosworth since she married some dude named Michael Polish. She took time to peruse this understated bracelet and drink whiskey at the bar.

Meanwhile, Hillary Swank and model/actress China Chow were also in attendance, with Chow capturing these admittedly very awesome ice cream pins.

As for the exhibit itself, prepare to be dazzled by the glittering of a gajillion dollars worth of 1950s to 1990s-era jewels from the Italian jewelry behemoth, who, per the exhibit notes, "is famous for mixing semiprecious stones with diamonds, mounting ancient coins in gold jewelry, and creating easy-to-wear pieces made with unusual color combinations."

Easy-to-wear? Yes, we were just thinking the same thing.

The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950-1990
Runs Sept. 21 - February 17, 2014

Triangularity caught by Demetrios Lyras.

Tired of your neighborhood already? Well, it's time to throw on a coat, march out the door, and venture out. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to this city each year to behold its mighty splendor and uniqueness, are you're bored with it? Pft. Here are our favorite tourist spots that locals (like you!) might enjoy.

ALAMO SQUARE
While tourists take the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus to visit San Francisco's Painted Ladies, locals will be obliged to take out of town friends to see "the Full House house" from Alamo Square's postcard vista for some prime tourist watching. As other parks become increasingly overrun with lounging picnickers, Alamo Square still has enough space to let your dog run free while taking in a sunset and the view of Twin Peaks on the park's less-visited western side. As you leave, point out that everyone knows the real Full House house is on Broderick anyway.
Hayes Street at Pierce

ALCATRAZ
Alcatraz Island is one of the city's only tourist attractions that's legitimately awesome, and if you think you're too cool for Alcatraz, you're probably not very cool at all. The night tour of this notorious ex-prison is fun, informative and totally spooky, but you'll need to book way ahead ... because, you know, tourists.

Hi Tops in the Castro is one of the gay mecca's very first sports bars. (Photo: Hi Tops / Facebook)

THE CASTRO
Tourist-magnet or not, it's still one of the best places in the world for a good time if you're gay. Sure, the gipsters scoff at it, but with new additions like Hi Tops, not to mention esteemed places like Frances, the Castro has underwent a renaissance of dramatic proportions over the last couple of years. Dare we say it, but the Castro could now very well be more hip and subversive than the Mission.

(Photo: Gerard Livernois)

DE YOUNG TOWER
No need to pay for museum admission to check out the stunning views of Golden Gate Park and beyond from the museum's observation deck. Tower admission is free and open late until 8 p.m. on summer Fridays from late March through November.
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park

The Golden Gate Bridge (Photo: Jason Rodman)

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
It's the most iconic symbol of San Francisco there is, and you're trying to tell me you're over it? You don't get a little thrill when driving or biking one of the most beautiful spans in the world? Don't lie ... you love the Golden Gate Bridge. Subtract the tourists who can't ride a bike or walk in a straight line, and the bridge is simply divine. And if you're a local who's never walked over it (there are a lot of you) give it a try. It just might take your breath away.

Veronica Klaus performs at Martuni's. (Photo: Chloe Harris / Instagram)

MARTUNI'S
It's where you'd take your theater friend from college who might want to belt a number from 'Godspell' by the piano, and it's where plenty of tourists find their way when looking for some gay San Francisco piano-bar realness. It's outside the Castro, and feels like a relic from another time not long past with its abundant silk flowers, low-amplified cabaret tunes, and high tables from which to sip some stiff (but often oversweet) martini drinks. Our recommendation is to stick simple drinks (bourbon and ginger, vodka tonic), go on a weeknight when there are still some seats in back, and take in the show as local performers jockey for the mic and a little time with the accompanist to sing a Gershwin tune, or some Billy Joel. It's way better than karaoke, and you just might find your own inner lounge singer after a drink or two.

(Photo: Kapshure)

THE NORTH BEACH LITERARY QUADRANGLE
Skip the waits for Italian food and give yourself the North Beach writer's tour: First, drink your dinner at Vesuvio like a real literary luminary, then pop into Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookstore to pick up some inspiration you'll probably never read. Then head past the strip clubs on Broadway and stop by the Beat Museum hoping to channel some of Kerouac's headswimming prose before finding yourself thumbing through the boxes of vintage Playboys. Cap off your tour with another couple rounds at Spec's or Tosca Café and promise yourself you'll start writing for real tomorrow.
Around Columbus Ave and Broadway Street, North Beach

Palace of Fine Arts at night. (Photo: Bob Horowitz)

PALACE OF FINE ARTS
The Exploratorium may have moved away, but the ruins of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition situated on a swan-filled lagoon make for a perfect picnic spot in the shadow of a Beaux Arts temple. Be aware that it's also popular with visiting groups of pre-Prom teens and wedding parties.
3301 Lyon Street, Marina

Telegraph Hill (Photo: Jim Heid)

TELEGRAPH HILL
One of the perhaps lesser frequented tourist stops around town, especially by locals, is Telegraph Hill, and it really deserves some more of your attention. First there are the Marxist, Diego Rivera-inspired murals inside Coit Tower by a group of WPA-funded artists in the 1930s, which are cool to check out. Then, of course, there are the views of the city and the Bay from an angle you likely haven't enjoyed before. And finally there are the famous wild parrots, which are spread out in different flocks around town these days, one of which still spends its mornings in the trees around the base of the tower. Kind of like nearby North Beach on a Friday night, they're loud, but they're pretty.

Colorful Valencia Street is now popular with tourists, but still retains a local vibe. (Photo: Bhautik Joshi)

VALENCIA STREET
Heard of it? This Mission street-cum-carnival ride bears the brunt of locals' ire when we make sweeping generalizations about "hipsters" and "tech people". And with Valencia Street a magnet for visitors anxious to soak up "SF culture" and weekenders crowding parking spots and bar stools, it's easy to get annoyed with this thoroughfare. But let's not forget the good food, locally-owned businesses and nice bike lane that Valencia affords us. Sure, some spots are intolerable, but others are lovely, especially on those early weeknights when the amateurs are away and you can play.

The view from The View. (Photo: David Lytle)

THE VIEW BAR AT THE MARRIOTT
We mentioned it as one of our favorite date bars and it deserves mention here too. The View Bar, inside the jukebox-y top of the Marriott on 4th Street, is as touristy as it gets — you're pretty likely to find yourself standing beside couples from Milwaukee in cargo shorts ordering 7&7s and asking how far it is to get to Macy's. The carpet is tacky, the drinks aren't particularly good, but the views are stunning, and cover 360 degrees of the city. Also, there are little nooks where you can take your drinks, hide away from everyone, and get lulled into a trance by the snaking lights along the freeway through SOMA.
780 Mission (at Fourth Street), S.F.; 415-896-1600

Jay Barmann, Andrew Dalton, Rose Garrett, and Brock Keeling all contributed to this article.

The de Young is paying tribute to local floral designers with their annual springtime mash-up of art and flowers. From March 19 to 23, the show features the work of more than 100 of the Bay Area’s most innovative floral designers, who have created arrangements that draw inspiration from and pay homage to the museum's permanent collections.

Watch the de Young's Bouquets to Art centerpiece rise up like a tower of flower power (we can't resist! It rhymes!) in this time-lapse video:

Bouquets to Art, March 19-23
de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, 415.750.3600

Saturday's Jean Paul Gaultier gala at the deYoung Museum could go down as one of the most stylish yet amiable events in the city's drunken party history, with barely a tacky red prom dress redo in sight. The bash, which saw the likes of tony society ilk mingling with horny leather queens, celebrated Gaultier's exhibit now at the deYoung. The designer arrived at the massive party with chronic burlesquer Dita Von Teese, both of whom were mobbed by fame-hungry attendees looking to get some face time.

Your SFist editor was lucky enough to score an invite to Saturday's fete. While we got woozy and mini hamburgers (not sliders, mind you), grilled cheese, and countless gin martinis, Gaultier left his Golden Gate Park party before midnight, according to Marke B, to hit Some Thing, noted drag show at the Stud, and the Powerhouse in SOMA. Good call.

Here are some pics from the festivities. Enjoy.

PREVIOUSLY: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
Kylie Minogue: Perfect Poster Girl For Jean Paul Gaultier At The DeYoung
Looking For Something To Wear To The Gaultier Opening?

The town is abuzz with the opening of this retrospective of the work of fashion designer John Paul Gaultier, opening this weekend at the De Young Museum — which we should note is becoming quite the powerhouse, nationally, when it comes to the world of costume collections and fashion-as-art shows. Perhaps you aren't a member and weren't lucky or rich enough to score a ticket to the gala opening party tonight. But nevertheless, there's a talk with Suzy Menkes and JPG tomorrow (which will also be streamed live on SFGov) from 11 a.m. to noon, and the show opens to the public tomorrow, and Castro consignment boutique Sui Generis just got a few vintage Gaultier looks for men in the store which you might want to consider wearing. See a couple more below.

What's that? You're not a homosexual? Oh, come now. Vintage looks are so hip these days.

Skull-shatteringly brilliant designer Jean Paul Gaultier is in town. As many of you now know. He is currently in awe of the views as seen from the deYoung tower. "The view from the @deYoungMuseum tower is absolument magnifique," he exclaimed Wednesday afternoon, adding, "#iLoveSanFrancisco."

Who better to promote Jean Paul Gaultier's upcoming exhibit at the deYoung Mueseum than Kylie Minogue? No one, that's who. The pop icon's image, as seen above, will grace poster walls, lampposts, and a sundry of buildings in the Bay Area during the exhibition starting this week. (Her laced visage and body was also seen at pitstops in Montreal.)

On March 24, the de Young Museum will smash the retrospective's hymen, called, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first exhibition devoted to the French designer famous for the cone bra, outfitting Madonna's Blond Ambition tour, costuming numerous Luc Besson and Pedro Almodovar movies, and so much more. His personal themes of “equality, diversity and perversity" will highlight the exhibit on view at the de Young from March 24 to August 19, 2012.\

The grand opening party happens on March 23 at 8 pm. Tickets are $250-$300. If you can't swing tickets to the gala, head over to the museum this month through August to check out the show.

What: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
Where: deYoung Museum, Golden Gate Park (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive), SF, 415-750-3600

Who better than @kylieminogue to embody the JPG exhibit coming to San Francisco @deYoungMuseum ? twitter.com/JPGaultier/sta…

— Jean Paul Gaultier (@JPGaultier) March 20, 2012

PREVIOUSLY: Jean Paul Gaultier: New Creative Director Of Diet Coke

In the summer of 1964, just before San Francisco turned into the epicenter of groovy vibes and summer luvin', a 23-year-old Arthur Tress traveled by bus from Mexico to San Francisco to visit his sister. Thank God he did. Otherwise we might not have had this astounding collection of photos, soon to be on display at the deYoung. Showcasing a work that reflected old and new aspects of the city, Tress explained to Time, "I was thinking as a kind of amalgam, all these little bits and pieces, almost as if you're making a collage—a symphony of the city."

Arthur Tress: San Francisco 1964: deYoung Museum (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Goldenn Gate Park), March 3, 2012 - June 3, 2012.

First came the works of Vivienne Westwood. Then a seamless Alexander McQueen show. Now the deYoung Museum intends to outdo itself with an earth's core-shattering retrospective of Jean Paul Gaultier. Opening on March 24, the de Young Museum presents The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first exhibition devoted to the French designer famous for the cone bra, Madonna's Blond Ambition tour, costuming numerous Luc Besson and Pedro Almodovar movies, and so much more. His personal themes of “equality, diversity and perversity" will highlight the exhibit on view at the de Young from March 24 August 19, 2012.

Ever since he hit the runway in the '70s, the enfant terrible is considered one of the most important fashion designers of all time. Before McQueen and Gallino busted out their own special brands of craziness, Gaultier's avant-garde fashions "reflected an understanding of a multicultural society’s issues and preoccupations, shaking up—with invariable good humor—established societal and aesthetic codes. More of a contemporary installation than a fashion retrospective, this major exhibition—which the couturier considers to be a creation in its own right—features approximately 140 ensembles spanning over 35 years from the designer’s couture and ready-to-wear collections, along with their accessories, and numerous archival documents. Many of these extraordinary pieces have never before been exhibited."

The installation will have six different sections marking the designer's development:

The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier - begins the exhibition with an exploration of several signature Gaultier motifs - the blue and white striped sailor shirt in all its themes and variations, spectacular mermaids and virgins, and welcomes the visitor with singing mannequins and a special cameo by the designer himself.

The Boudoir - explores Gaultier’s fascination with lingerie and underpinnings culminating in his signature collaboration with Madonna for her Blonde Ambition tour.

Skin Deep - a risqué, provocative gallery featuring garments inspired by themes of bondage and body art.

Punk Cancan - features the dichotomy between the typical upscale French couture client and the street punks of London.

Urban Jungle - a multicultural clash of influences including Hussars, Mongolians, Hassidic Jews, Frida Kahlo and China. This gallery includes highlights of Gaultier’s haute couture detailing with unusual materials and techniques on view.
Metropolis - concludes the exhibition with a presentation of Gaultier’s work for film, performance pieces and his relationships with pop icons such as Kylie Minogue and Tina Turner.

Punk Cancan? Our head just exploded. Anyway, among the many items of wonder you will find include Gaultier's childhood teddy bear complete with a nascent cone bra. Genius.

The grand opening party happens on March 23 at 8 pm. Tickets are an astounding $250-$300. For a more affordable and less glitzy affair, simply head over to the deYoung next month to check out the exhibit. There will be a $10 surcharge in addition to regular museum admission price.

What: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
Where: deYoung Museum, Golden Gate Park (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive), SF, 415-750-3600