A celebration was in order.
It has been a year this week since Willem de Kooningโs โWoman-Ochre,โ stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985, was found hanging behind a door in a Silver City, New Mexico, home.
Last weekend, UAMA staff and a few museum members hopped over to that city to celebrate its return with David Van Auker and his partners. They had purchased the furnishings at the home of the recently-deceased Rita Atler. Van Auker has said that he threw the painting on top of the pile, never expecting it was a De Kooning worth about $160 million.
If Rita Atler and her husband, Jerry, who passed away in 2012, stole the painting, no one has told the FBI.
โItโs still an open investigation,โ says Gina Compitello-Moore with UAMA.
And the De Kooning is still not available for public view.
โThe painting is not on display and probably wonโt be displayed until after conservation,โ says Olivia Miller, curator of exhibitions at the museum.
It could be some time before the public can see it.
โThereโs no way for us to predict the timeline,โ says Miller.
Willem de Kooningโs โWoman-Ochre,โ on display for a news conference on Monday, has been returned to the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
โOne, the FBI hasnโt closed the case so we canโt send it anywhere for conservation. And thereโs no way to predict how long the conservation will take โ they need to assess what needs to be done.โ
To Millerโs trained eye, the biggest issues with the painting are matching it up to a cut portion and paint specks that have come loose.
โAs much as possible we will try to reattach it to the remains of the canvas, but because they used a blade the cut was so precise it makes it difficult to reattach,โ she says.
โThe other big issue is thereโs a lot of paint loss that came from rolling it up, or ripping it from its lining. There are a lot of little paint scraps; that will be a precise repair.โ
It will be a pricey repair, too.
The art museum has launched a fundraising campaign with the hopes of raising $1 million.
โWe are fundraising for the painting in its entirety,โ she says.
โFor conservation, long-term care, exhibition, educational materials โ itโs a large fundraising pool that will support many aspects of the painting.โ
Stolen artwork worth as much as $160 million recovered for University of Arizona
Willem de Kooning "Woman-Ochre" Returned to UA Museum of Art
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The recovered painting by Willem de Kooning is readied for examination by UA Museum of Art staff Nathan Saxton (r), Exhibitions Specialist, and Kristen Schmidt, Registrar, on Aug. 8, 2017.
Stolen painting
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David Van Auker, a furniture and antiques dealer in Silver City, New Mexico, canโt hold back his excitement when telling the story of discovering a missing Willem de Kooning painting. Olivia Miller, UA Museum of Art curator, looks on.
Stolen painting
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Willem de Kooningโs โWoman-Ochreโ was found in New Mexico after being stolen in 1985 from the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Stolen painting
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Willem de Kooningโs โWoman-Ochre,โ on display for a news conference on Monday, has been returned to the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Painting recovered
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This undated image provided by University of Arizona Museum of Art shows an oil canvas by artist Willem De Kooning, titled: "Woman-Ochre," 1954-55, a Gift of Edward Joseph Gallagher, Jr." The artwork was stolen 30 years ago from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Ariz. ย
Suspects in art theft
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A Dec. 6, 1985 sketch of the suspects in the theft of a Willem de Kooning painting from the University of Arizona Museum of Art. They were described as a woman in her mid-50s with shoulder-length reddish-blond hair, wearing tan bell-bottom slacks, a scarf on her head and a red coat, and a man with olive-colored skin, wearing a blue coat. Both had thick-framed glasses.
Missing de Kooning painting
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Today, the empty frame still holds narrow edges of the missing de Kooning painting at the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson.
