The painting of Willem de Kooning's "Woman — Ochre" was stolen in 1985 from the Art Museum of the University of Arizona in Tucson, and after 31 years it was accidentally discovered by the antiquary in the neighbouring state of new-Мексико

For the owner of an antique shop in silver-Сити, the state of new-Мексико, David van Walker (David Van Auker), it was the usual challenge. Someone from a small town a 30-minute drive from silver-Сити invited the dealer for the assessment of property in the rural home of a relative. Van Oker on the truck soon pulled up to this ranch, he inspected everything that was in the house, and bought something that was value — African art, furniture of the mid-twentieth century ceramics and a few paintings. One of the paintings that hung outside the bedroom door, he was impressed. Art-дилер already decided to hang this abstraction in their guest house. But after only one day after the picture appeared in his antique shop in silver-Сити, the new owner changed his mind.

"Is that a real De Kooning?" — asked one of the buyers saw the abstraction brought from the ranch. Three more visitors to shop on this day, van asked Walker the same question, thus not a little excited antiquary. On request "De Kooning" he quickly found an article on the Internet 2015 on theft 30-летней ago at the Arizona state Museum. In 2015, the staff of the Art Museum at the University of Arizona (University of Arizona Museum of Art UAMA) decided to refresh the memory of the Americans this story in the hope that after 30 years could be new clues and evidence. Their efforts have paid off handsomely: two years later article with a photo of work helped David van Walker to I. D. acquired the stolen painting by De Kooning.

He immediately called the Museum to Interpol and information Agency, published an article in 2015. The Museum does not believe his luck until, until I passed the 320 km separating the Tucson and silver-Сити (it is in neighboring States) and see the picture live. Matched all described in the Museum documents the old restorations, the cut edge of the canvas, which came together with the scraps in a Museum frame. Crackles on the picture confirmed that it was rolled up in a tube (in this form the work of De Kooning was moved out of the Museum in 1985). There was no doubt left: the original.

How stolen, the picture came to the ranch in new-Мексико remains to be seen. At the first signs of work fell into the hands of not very versed in the art of people. Framed it was only once after theft by — in a typical gilded frame. The canvas was roughly stretched and fixed brackets on the subframe, it's like whoever did it did not understand the true higher value of the painting. Of course, the painting will need restoration before returning to the Museum of the University of Arizona.

the Robbery occurred the next day after Thanksgiving, November 29, 1985. At ten o'clock in the morning in the Museum went two — a woman of about 55-60 in a scarf and sunglasses (maybe it was disguised as a man, according to the police) and a man 25-30 years old with curly hair, a mustache and glasses. Woman distracted by the conversation of the guard, and the man went to the second floor. His goal was the pearl of the collection — painting of Willem de Kooning's "Woman — Ochre", donated to the Museum in 1958 by architect and businessman Edward Ganahera the Younger (Edward Gallagher Jr.). After 10 minutes, the attackers left the building, taking under outerwear cut from the frame De Kooning. No video, no fingerprints left. Machine room the Museum security also did not have time to write. The return of the paintings after so many years can be considered a miracle.

In the year of admission to the Museum the work of Willem de Kooning, estimated at $6 тыс.; at the time of theft — $400 тыс.; today, its price could reach $100 million (in 2006, another work by De Kooning from the same legendary series, "Woman III" was bought in a private transaction for $137.5 million).

the Material was prepared by Maria Onuchina, AI

Sources: artmuseum.arizona.edu, azcentral.com, azcentral.com, nytimes.com, artinvestment.ru