An artwork stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art 37 years ago was recovered through thorough and precise planning by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with university police.
The picture arrived on campus via 18-wheeler with an HSI escort Sept. 14, according to a Sept. 29 news release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The painting attracted international notice after its theft in 1985.
“The fact that this painting was found over 30 years later largely intact and now restored to a pristine condition is simply remarkable,” HSI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown said in the release.
The longstanding partnership of his office with the university was equally important to get the painting back to UofA, Brown said, according to the release. That enabled them to lead the effort to bring the “Woman-Ochre” from Los Angeles to Tuscon.
Though HSI Phoenix has participated in many repatriation ceremonies, Brown said the return of “Woman-Ochre” was a first for the office in that it ensured this cultural and significant relic was returned to the citizens of Tucson, the release said.
“The success in bringing this painting to Tucson would not have been possible without the cooperation of so many people and agencies who spent countless hours contributing to this effort,” he said, according to the release.
