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The F.B.I. is offering a $25,000 reward for the recovery of seven screen prints of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup cans after they were snatched from an art museum in Springfield, Mo.
The prints of the cans, which are among the artist’s most recognizable works, had been part of the Springfield Art Museum’s collection since 1985, and were currently on display in a special exhibit of British and American pop art. The prints, not to be confused with Mr. Warhol’s original set of 32 soup can paintings, were from a later series called Campbell’s Soup 1. They were made in 1968, about six years after Mr. Warhol’s paintings created a cultural sensation (and divided the art world). The F.B.I. estimates that the total value of the prints, which came in a set of 10, to be about $500,000.
But the value could be a lot less now, because the thieves made off with only seven of the 10 prints: the beef, vegetable, tomato, onion, green pea, chicken noodle and black bean cans.
The Warhol prints were a point of local pride in Springfield, according to Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman with the Springfield Police Department. “They were one of those kinds of ‘claim to fame’ types of pieces,” Ms. Cox said.
The soup can prints were more than three feet tall and two feet wide. They were displayed on a wall in white wooden frames. Because they are delicate, they had been displayed only a handful of times over the years..
The prints are believed to have been snatched after the museum was closed and the doors were locked around 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ms. Cox said.
The museum does not have a security staff after hours, and when the doors were opened the next morning around 8:45 a.m., employees noticed that the prints were missing. The Springfield Police Department and the F.B.I.’s Art Crime unit are working together to investigate the thefts.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/arts/warhols-soup-cans-stolen-prints-springfield-missouri.html
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