LA Thieves Steal Millions in Warhols

Los Angeles police continue investigating the theft of 11 Andy Warhol paintings from the home of wealthy businessman and art collector Richard Weisman, according to the LA Times. Leaving no signs of break in and other expensive art untouched, thieves made off with the pop painter’s “Athletes” series, which they can likely never cash in without getting caught. Commissioned by Weisman in the late 1970s, the silk-screened series includes a portrait of himself, as well as ten paintings of sports stars such as Muhammad Ali, OJ Simpson, Pele, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Although Weisman is believed to own multiple copies of the portrait series in several colorways, he would still like this one back: an “anonymous source” has posted a $1 million reward for information leading to the paintings’ recovery. A gallery of the stolen Warhols after the jump. Read more »

MoMA Prefers Its Boring Unmolested Ads, Decries Vandalism!

The Museum of Modern Art doesn’t appreciate their ads getting vandalized even if it does make them slightly more relevant, increases media attention, and most importantly, fosters a discussion about modern art. After learning that the creative agency responsible for designing their prolific marketing campaign for a Brooklyn subway station in turn hired ad altering artist Poster Boy to give it a face lift, the venerable art institution fired The Happy Corp. and condemned the action with strong words. “The Museum deplores any kind of vandalism and is profoundly distressed that the posters were defaced,” said MoMA spokesperson Kim Mitchell. Right! Because they would never EVER invite vandals to take part in an exhibit.

Artist Fashions Vicodin Earrings

Who knew that prescription drugs weren’t just for abusing? They also make for the perfect medium when designing fashionable art like Becky Stern’s “Vicodin Earrings.” After undergoing knee surgery, the artist was prescribed the popular painkiller which made her very sick. But instead of passing them along to willing hands or throwing them out—heaven forbid—she donned a set of nitrile gloves, strapped on a mask, got out the drill and went to work. Unfortunately for salivating pill poppers, Stern admits they’re a bit “chalky and fragile” so she plans on coating them. Leave her earlobes alone! |F.A.T.|

The FBI’s Stolen Art Collection

When William Kingsland died in 2006, he left behind a treasure trove of artwork, but “no will…and no apparent heirs to claim the floor-to-ceiling stacks of paintings and art works crammed into his one-bedroom apartment,” according to the FBI. After hiring Christie’s to help sell the work, the auction house did some investigating and discovered that many of the pieces were reported stolen in the 60s and 70s—so much for the FBI’s, intricately logo’d 13 agent strong Art Crime Team. The Feds later learned that Williams Kingsland was actually born Melvyn Kohn and that he choose Kingsland because “it had a more literary sound to it and would help him gain acceptance among Manhattan’s upper crust.” The FBI has compiled a neat online gallery and is urging the public to take a look and see if any of the work looks familiar including some Picassos, like this one (pictured right).
Pablo Picasso “Tete de Femme”