The Art Newspaper is now reporting the owner of the painting has rescinded his insurance claim as well as his $1 million reward. No explanations are known at this time, but here again the situation sounds unusual. Is it possible the thief or thieves contacted the owner and a ransom has been paid, but then why the cancellation of the insurance? Regardless, the whole situation makes one wonder. And, lets not forget the unusual circumstances surrounding the reported on thefts from Pebble Beach. Both situations certainly raise interest and perhaps suspicion on what actually has happened.
The Art Newspaper reports
News of the widely reported theft came as a shock to the organisers of “Warhol/Icon: the Creation of Image” in the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens (until 10 January). They had borrowed a set of “Athletes” from Weisman, and initially police were tipped off that they were the stolen ones.
The guest curator Paul Moorhouse, of the National Portrait Gallery in London, thought the loan was off. “Then we discovered that Weisman had a second set which had been stolen,” he said.
In fact, Weisman has four complete sets out of the original eight “Athletes”. The stolen set was taken from his Los Angeles home in early September; there was no sign of a break-in, and other more valuable works of art were left untouched nearby, Detective Don Hrycyk of the Los Angeles Police Department told The Art Newspaper.
“Withdrawing the insurance claim is an unusual move,” said Hrycyk. “People can make what they want of it.” The investigation into the theft continues, he said, but it “depends on [Weisman’s] cooperation; he’s cut off contact with the insurance company and has not returned recent phone calls”.
To read the full Art Newspaper article, click HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment