“Thinking Nude” by Roy Lichtenstein (Photo provided by NYPD)
NEW YORK (CBS 2/ 1010 WINS) – On Thursday night, the NYPD was in Greenwich Village investigating a major art heist.
They said works by Andy Warhol and other famous names, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, were stolen from an apartment near 9th Avenue, reports CBS 2’s Dave Carlin.
Police said creepy is the right way to describe the art thieves who ransacked a home in a swanky section of the West Village.
Investigators said while the owners were out of town during the final week of November, the burglars carved their way into an apartment from an adjacent hallway. They eventually came upon an art collection worth close to $1 million.
Once the opening in the wall was large enough for crooks to gain entry, the crafty criminals looted luxury items.
Clearly rare prints of several important works of art by modern masters including Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were what they were looking for.
“Those kinds of thieves are going to go for that kind of merchandise,” West Village resident Mitch Ely said. “The people who are going to go for this are going to have a clientele that is going to buy it.”
Police said the burglars must have known they’d be on film because they also stole a video recorder attached to surveillance cameras.
The stolen items include the following:
- “Thinking Nude” – a 42” x 61” print by Roy Lichtenstein
- “Moonscape” – a 19” x 23” print by Roy Lichtenstein
- “Camouflage” – a 38” x 38” set of eight signed prints in various colors by Andy Warhol
- “The Truck” – a 39” x 39” print by Andy Warhol
- “Superman” – a 38” x 38” print by Andy Warhol
- “Live Cat” – a 48” x 60” oil painting by Carl Fudge
Sources teold Carlin jewlery was also taken from the home.
Anyone with information regarding this burglary is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then entering TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
47 Comments
Does WalMart sell that stuff? Didn’t know, but doubt it. Probably they’d sell commercial prints of American Artists like Norman Rockefeller if they are produced. That would be a sore spot for worshipers of trash. After years of paint spillers trying to sideline Norman by categorizing him as an “illustrator” it didn’t work. Now there is a great American Artist. Go look at his work!
December 26, 2010 at 11:04 am
Many of these comments are hilarious, given the commenters are blatantly ignorant about what an original artist “print” is. They would do better to stick to commenting about WalMart merchandise, something about which they have intimate knowledge of.
December 26, 2010 at 4:13 am
Warhol? Well then it could hardly be labeled an ‘art’ theft could it?
December 25, 2010 at 6:06 pm
I couldn’t sit here and read all these comments, but did anyone manage to clarify that “Print” is not like and computer print out or an EBAY Print… they mean “print” as in an original print made by the artist, like Andy’s silk screens. Read a little before you sling mud… your 3-year-olds with the finger paintings probably could teach you a little bit more about art if you listened.
December 25, 2010 at 2:14 pm
…but that said, Steve Martin is a leading suspect.
December 25, 2010 at 2:15 pm
My three year old looked this up and it is spelled Cynic. The same three year old was still not impressed by these “prints.”
December 25, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Someone must have needed good kindling paper.
December 25, 2010 at 1:07 pm
I’d check out that shifty Steve Martin character in Los Angeles; that banjo is just a front to make him seem less diabolical.
December 25, 2010 at 1:34 am
I am terribly sorry for this gentleman’s loss. I wanted to post to let him know that there are a lot of prints like this at our local Wal-Mart that can be had for a lot less when he starts to look for replacements. If you don’t have any luck at Wal-Mart, perhaps your local Mall poster shop would have a lot of these too. Hopefully, they didn’t see your Peter Max stuff in the next room!!
December 25, 2010 at 11:45 am
Fred Sanford. to Lamont.. “We was robbed!!”…
December 24, 2010 at 11:46 pm
“prints”.. how the hizell is a print.. that’s available on ebay.. worth that much. Because the owner says it is? Scam.. no one knew they were there.. they only took.. the paintings.. for the insurance.. the video.. t cover their crimes.. and a few pieces of jewelry to throw off the investigators.. I bet the “tunnel” was started inside.. and after the owners had packed everything away that was “stolen”.. they went up to the wall and kicked a hole in it and left..
December 24, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Yeah, yeah. Cops would never think of such a scam. You be Brilliant, Gerry Wayne!! Now, be careful, or you’ll get those piggies-in-a-blanket on your PJs.
December 25, 2010 at 1:34 am
If we are lucky they will use it to stay warm this holiday season.
December 24, 2010 at 10:59 pm
One would think somebody would see or hear people boring through a hallway wall and then the video goes missing as well. Sound a tad suspicious!!!
Art is in the eye of the beholder so I’ll just leave the art comment at that!!!!!!!!!
December 24, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Has it been missing for more than 15 minutes?
December 24, 2010 at 4:07 pm
ha ha ha. Beautiful and insightful comment. PLEASE, will sumboddie pleze get sum pollytician to push a Special Amber Alert for so called art work? The most important and treasured artwork is a child. The sleuths don’t budge unless pushed to rescue them… like Kyron Horman under the gaze of the Multnomah Oregon Shur-if and friends. Betcha the sleuths rescue this trash fast, unfortunately.
December 24, 2010 at 8:22 pm
It’s not quite like stealing a Bible from your hotel room is it.
December 24, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Roy Lichtenstein was great and so was Warhol-Art innovators–I never heard of Carl Fudge.
December 24, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Thank goodness it was only Warhol and not art. Too bad they didn’t get the originals.
December 24, 2010 at 2:42 pm
“And I love Drudge, so FU you stupid Obama voting sheep”
hmmm, riiiiight…
December 24, 2010 at 1:19 pm
These are just PRINTS, not paintings, except for Fudge packer, whoever that is.
Like I said, this owner is a poor man compared to other people who collect art.
And I love Drudge, so FU you stupid Obama voting sheep.
December 24, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I worked for some one who had a 5 million dollar Wharol painting, this stuff is garbage.
December 24, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Bad economy = insurance scheme and can you believe that the owners had the perfect alibi, being out of town. Any first year detective could figure this one out.
December 24, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Exactly right
December 24, 2010 at 3:56 pm
No crying over split paint!
December 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
I think you mean split pant.
December 24, 2010 at 4:49 pm
NYC Police and Fire personal are the model for lazy public servants whose only prime goal is to got out on a disability retirement pens. I would give any of them a spare nickel if they were destitute and starving. Bet anything Bloomberg’s got the paintings hanging in his office.
December 24, 2010 at 11:44 am
Art is meant to viewed by the public, not walled in someone’s private residence. Unfortunately the thieves probably got inside info from friends of the people who own the paintings.
December 24, 2010 at 11:39 am
Bust out your 3rd grade reading skills and give this one another go.
The stolen ‘art’ were Prints, not Paintings.
Y not move your fridge to your front porch so the world can see your 5 year old’s finger-paintings?
December 24, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame must be over.
December 24, 2010 at 11:38 am
HA! Hardly…shows what little you know about art, you ignoramus.
December 24, 2010 at 1:26 pm
NYC POLICE =GRAFT
December 24, 2010 at 11:36 am
NYC cops couldn’t catch a cold. Sit around sometimes sleep wake up write a few parking tickets and in 20 years of doing nothing collect a pension.
December 24, 2010 at 11:30 am
Drudge readers leaving the comments.
December 24, 2010 at 11:30 am
With any luck, those ‘artworks’ will never be seen again.
December 24, 2010 at 11:17 am
Oceans 42
December 24, 2010 at 11:15 am
“Live Cat” looks to me like “Bad Quilt”.
Hey I bet it was the Russian Mob!
December 24, 2010 at 9:20 am
Warhol, Lichtenstein and fudge? Thank got the thieves didn’t get out with any real art..
December 24, 2010 at 7:33 am
My thoughts, exactly!
December 24, 2010 at 8:13 am
Sure, good opinion. I’m willing to bet you don’t have half the artistic talent of Lichtenstein.
December 24, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Really?? How much you wanna bet?
December 24, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Darn here comes another movie.
December 24, 2010 at 5:44 am
And they are going and going and going…. enough of the “going to go’s!”
December 24, 2010 at 4:48 am
This kind of crime is so urban, gritty and REAL, and maybe the art freedom fighters have interesting backstories, so I say this work of performance art liberation should be celebrated!!
December 24, 2010 at 3:17 am
i love art. i love the dogs playing poker.
December 23, 2010 at 9:32 pm
and I have a beautiful painting of Elvis.
December 24, 2010 at 1:57 am
Is it on black velvet?
December 24, 2010 at 3:26 am