The FBI is looking for 19 contemporary artworks worth millions, including a "Flowers" silkscreen, left, by Andy Warhol. (Left: FBI / Associated Press Photos; right: Los Angeles Times / May 25, 2012)
Detroit, Michigan, may be notorious for its relatively high levels of crime, but “Art Theft” is not the first example that comes to mind.
An 18-piece art collection of silkscreens, including a framed screen that was used by Andy Warhol, were stolen from a local collector in Detroit, Michigan in late April. The unnamed collector had the pieces—not locked up—temporarily stored in his business, located in the Corktown district.
Of course, one of the inherent problems with stealing art, is that the higher the profile, the harder the merchandise is to sell, or fence. Sadly, this isn’t enough to deter art theft altogether. The FBI is not optimistic about the art returning to its owner—an estimated 15% of all stolen art ever turns up.
When this story first broke, it was misreported that the silkscreen of Warhol’s “Flowers” was stolen, when in actuality it was the literal silk screen used to create “Flowers.” San Francisco-based Art dealer and Warhol-book author Richard Polsky told the Free Press: “Nobody collects these … It’s memorabilia. Somebody might buy it for a couple grand to say they had it and it was cool.”
The FBI has issued a reward of $5,000 for information that leads to the recovery of the stolen property. The collection was estimated to be worth $1 million, but others have placed it at considerably less.
Source: Free Press
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