“The art heist went down without a hitch in only 15 minutes.”

–Maria Woodie, ArtistsNetwork

The Crime: Tucson 1985

The University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) wasn’t even open yet the morning after Thanksgiving 1985, when an employee arrived to find a man and a woman already waiting outside. The gregarious couple managed to talk their way in, following the employee into the building.

The woman, wearing a red jacket and a scarf in her hair, chatted up a security guard, while her mustachioed partner went upstairs toward one of the museum’s most important works.

Woman-Ochre had been in the museum’s collection since 1958. It was unceremoniously taken off exhibit when this Black Friday visitor hacked the canvas out of its frame, rolled it up, stuffed it under his jacket (or somewhere), and made a hasty exit with his accomplice.

Continue reading “Stolen de Kooning Painting Restored to Tucson Museum”