credit – Harwood Museum of Art, released as a courtesyTwo paintings have been recovered 40 years after they were stolen from an art museum in New Mexico, the FBI has reported.
The paintings, by Victor Higgins and Joseph Henry Sharp, were stolen in March of 1985 from the Harwood Museum of Art at the University of New Mexico, which was primarily a public library at the time with a museum on the second floor.
After being notified in the spring of 2024, the local FBI field office reviewed the documentation provided by the museum and opened an investigation. The paintings were located, recovered, and ultimately returned to the Harwood Museum of Art on May 12th.
The paintings were Higgins’ oil on canvas Aspens (1932) and Sharp’s portrait Oklahoma Cheyenne aka Indian Boy in Full Dress (1915). Sharp and Higgins were members of the Taos Society of Artists, and the latter was a founding board member of the Harwood museum.
The investigation was prompted by a phone call from an Arizona investigative reporter who claimed to have substantial evidence that whoever stole the two works was the same person who targeted the University of Arizona Museum of Art 32 years ago. The criminal made off with Willem de Kooning’s Woman-Ocher (1954–55), which was recovered in 2017 from the home of Rita and Jerry Alter.
During a search of their house, a photograph was taken in which Aspens and Oklahoma Cheyenne could be seen hanging on the wall in the background. One year after the photo was taken, the paintings were sold at an Arizona auction house, the FBI later learned.
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The Scottsdale Auction House’s 2018 auction catalog advertised the paintings with changed titles Fall Landscape and Indian in a War Bonnet, names unconnected to any documentation from Sharp or Higgins.
“We are grateful for the cooperation of all parties involved,” said Margaret Girard, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office. “The recovery of these stolen paintings is a powerful reminder that the FBI continues to commit investigative resources to recover cultural property and return these stolen items to their rightful owners.”
“This homecoming means so much—not just to our staff, board, and members, but to the entire arts and cultural community of Taos. We can’t wait to celebrate their return with everyone,” said Harwood’s Executive Director Juniper Leherissey.
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