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A Small Town Couple Left Behind a Stolen Painting Worth Over $100 Million - And a Big Mystery

M

MULTIZ321

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A Small Town Couple Left Behind a Stolen Painting Worth Over $100 Million - And a Big Mystery
By Antonia Farzan/ Morning Mix/ News/ The Washington Post/ washingtonpost.com

"Jerry and Rita Alter kept to themselves. They were a lovely couple, neighbors in the small New Mexico town of Cliff would later tell reporters. But no one knew much about them.

They may have been hiding a decades-old secret, pieces of which are now just emerging.

Among them:

After the couple died, a stolen Willem de Kooning painting with an estimated worth of $160 million was discovered in their bedroom.

More than 30 years ago, that same painting disappeared the day after Thanksgiving from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson.

And Wednesday, the Arizona Republic reported that a family photo had surfaced, showing that the day before the painting vanished, the couple was, in fact, in Tucson....."

6WPNVV7PQMYYJKVO366Y3MVTDQ.jpg

“Woman-Ochre” by Willem de Kooning. (Courtesy of University of Arizona Museum of Art)



Richard
 
At least someone in the public realized its worth. I sure wouldn't have.
 
How odd. I guess they couldn't figure out how to turn it into a fortune. How does one get rid of a valuable stolen painting?
 
rickandcindy23 said:
How odd. I guess they couldn't figure out how to turn it into a fortune. How does one get rid of a valuable stolen painting?
Click to expand...

I'd have to guess that if you are a good enough thief to be able to steal something like this then you would know how to get rid of it and have the contacts. There are collectors who have no problem purchasing stolen artworks and people who specialize in providing it to them. Maybe this was their retirement plan.

Each to their own but I sure wouldn't want to wake up or go to sleep with this painting hanging in my bedroom.
 
Fascinating story. I wonder if they'll ever figure out the truth.

I sense a Lifetime Movie of the Week here: Secret Agents, double-identity lives, the Witness Protection Program, traveling the world to work the international market to deal in stolen artifacts. A headline story in USA Today: "Unassuming couple arrested for international art theft scheme; huge bank account and weird painting seized as evidence." The accompanying article provides more details: "A close neighbor told reporters, 'They wasn't no trouble, and boy, the wife sure could make a great hot-dish!' The investigation stymies detectives!"

Dave, with tongue firmly in cheek. ;)
 
$160,000,000 huh? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't see it. Sorry.
 
I think a good lesson is learned here, Some of the ugly paintings in our parents home that we would never want may be worth lots of money. Just have to hope they were not stolen.
 
MULTIZ321 said:
A Small Town Couple Left Behind a Stolen Painting Worth Over $100 Million - And a Big Mystery
By Antonia Farzan/ Morning Mix/ News/ The Washington Post/ washingtonpost.com

"Jerry and Rita Alter kept to themselves. They were a lovely couple, neighbors in the small New Mexico town of Cliff would later tell reporters. But no one knew much about them.

They may have been hiding a decades-old secret, pieces of which are now just emerging.

Among them:

After the couple died, a stolen Willem de Kooning painting with an estimated worth of $160 million was discovered in their bedroom.

More than 30 years ago, that same painting disappeared the day after Thanksgiving from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson.

And Wednesday, the Arizona Republic reported that a family photo had surfaced, showing that the day before the painting vanished, the couple was, in fact, in Tucson....."

6WPNVV7PQMYYJKVO366Y3MVTDQ.jpg

“Woman-Ochre” by Willem de Kooning. (Courtesy of University of Arizona Museum of Art)



Richard
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting that Richard. A very interesting story!
 
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