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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
‘To see them here is surreal': Stolen paintings rehung at Taos museum
TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) – Four decades in the making, a New Mexico mystery has finally come to a close. Two paintings that were ripped off the walls and stolen from a northern New Mexico museum in the 80s returned home Friday. 'It's amazing to have these paintings back in Taos. It's something that we never imagined would happen. To see them here is surreal. We're pleased that they're back,' said Juniper Leherissey, executive director of the Hardwood Museum of Art. The oil paintings 'Aspens' by Victor Higgins and 'Oklahoma Cheyenne' by Joseph Henry Sharp were hung back inside the museum on Friday, forty years after they were taken from the museum. 'It was a blow to me, personally. On the other hand, these things happen,' said David Witt, who was the museum curator when the paintings vanished in 1985. So, how did they go missing? Rita and Jerry Alter, who are now dead, are believed to have stolen the art after creating a distraction and fleeing with the paintings. The Alters were never caught or charged with a crime; however, the paintings spent decades in their home near Silver City. 'Part of the reason they weren't discovered is that they were hanging, literally hanging, in the living room of Rita and Jerry Alter's home,' explained Leherissey. After Rita Alter died in 2017, an antique dealer unknowingly bought another stolen art piece from the Alter's estate sale: Willem De Kooning's 'Woman-Ocher', which was taken from the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 'It wasn't until the estate was disband that they even were in the public eye,' Leherissey said. The two missing paintings returned home in part thanks to writer Lou Schachter, who linked the 'Harwood Heist' to the De Kooning theft after watching news stories and a documentary on the case. 'It's a wonderful feeling to be part of this celebration where things that were stolen 40 years ago are back home where they belong,' said Schachter. Past and present museum staff were thankful to see the works of art return home to their rightful place for everyone to see. 'It all has a good ending in the end. An unexpected one for me,' Witt said. The paintings will remain on public display through Sept. 7. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Stolen paintings returned to Harwood Museum of Art in Taos 40 years after heist
TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) – It was a case of disappearing artwork that went cold and was nearly forgotten. Now, decades later, two missing paintings are back in their rightful home inside a northern New Mexico museum. The missing paintings vanished from a Taos art museum 40 years ago. It turns out those pieces were in the same New Mexico home where another valuable stolen painting was found years ago. Story continues below Job News: NM proposes rule aimed at preventing heat illness for workers Poll Results: Where is the best place to go fishing in New Mexico? Don't Miss: One man's journey out of the juvenile justice system to mentorship 'It's unbelievable, really, that they finally made their way back after being lost for 40 years,' said Harwood Museum of Art Executive Director Juniper Leherissey. Decades later, the mystery is over. Two paintings, stolen off the walls of The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, are now back home. The stolen paintings include Victor Higgins' 'Aspens' and 'Oklahoma Cheyenne' by Joseph Henry Sharp. The paintings spent decades on the wall of a home near Silver City. The museum said the now-deceased couple who owned the home are those behind the 1985 'Harwood Heist.' 'These individuals came into the museum, created a distraction, one woman in a wheelchair, the man in a trench coat went upstairs, and these works are not huge, so basically ripped them off the wall,' added Leherissey. That couple, Rita and Jerry Alter, made national headlines in 2017 after an estate sale company discovered the multi-million dollar piece, Willem De Kooning's 'Woman-Ocher' which was taken from the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 'We really don't know how many works they stole, but they did take advantage of small institutions,' said Leherissey. With the help of a historical true crime writer, the two Harwood Museum of Art paintings are back home. In 2023, Lou Schachter noticed the 'Harwood Heist' was similar to the De Kooning theft. 'I followed the story of the Alters' theft of the De Kooning painting in Tucson, and I got inspired to see if the Alters had stolen any other paintings. It seemed weird that they would have stolen just one,' said Schachter. After Schachter's discovery, the museum contacted the FBI. Investigators found the paintings were sold by the Scottsdale Auction House under different titles in 2018. Schachter said, 'I think it's a gift to anyone who goes to an art museum, but particularly those in Taos, New Mexico, who have a great art museum and incredible works, and these are two that belong, home. Where they were.' While the museum is now in custody of the paintings, they'll be officially unveiled to the public in a museum event on June 6 at 4 p.m. The couple who were in possession of the paintings were never charged with a crime, as they died before anyone made the discovery. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
