the art collectors

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Warhol Athlete Series Stolen

(Via: Los Angeles Police Department)

A series of 10 unique prints from Warhol’s well-known Athlete Series were stolen earlier this month from the Los Angeles residence of collector Richard Weisman. A commissioned portrait of Weisman was also taken in the theft.

While other color versions of the print edition depicting sports icons of the 1970s exist, Weisman’s are arguably the most significant. It was at his request that Warhol created the series, and in turn the artist requested Wesiman to hand pick the ten athletes, many who he knew personally. The works have been heavily on loan over the past few years, appearing in exhibitions at the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA) in 2008 and the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in 2006.

In 2006 Wesiman noted, “I felt that putting this series together was a natural in that two of the most popular leisure time activities at that time were sports and art, yet to my knowledge they had no direct connection,” Weisman said. “I therefore thought that having Andy Warhol do the series would inspire people who loved sports to come into galleries, maybe for the first time, and people who liked art would take their first look at a sports superstar.”

A one million dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of the works of art.