Stolen de Kooning Painting Returns to Tucson
Antique dealers recovered Willem de Kooning's 'Woman-Ochre' in New Mexico, 32 years after it was taken from the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Fine Art
Antique dealers recovered Willem de Kooning's painting 'Woman-Ochre' in rural New Mexico in 2017, 32 years after it was stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985. The painting was restored at the J. Paul Getty Museum and returned to Tucson, where it went on exhibit on October 8.
Why it matters
The recovery restores a work to a Tucson public collection after decades out of view. The case shows how a stolen artwork can resurface in an ordinary estate and be identified through public records and a newspaper story.
The painting was missing for 32 years, from its 1985 theft to its 2017 recovery, after being donated to the university in 1958. The stub does not state the painting's market value or any charges against the thief.
The players
J. Paul Getty Museum
The Los Angeles museum restored the painting beginning in 2019, after it was returned from New Mexico.
University of Arizona Museum of Art
The Tucson museum held the painting for decades before its 1985 theft and received it back after recovery.
The details
A man cut the painting from its frame, rolled it, and walked out of the museum on the day after Thanksgiving 1985 while a woman distracted staff. Three antique dealers bought a rural New Mexico estate in 2017 and found the work hanging behind a bedroom door, then recognized it after locating a 2015 Arizona Republic story and contacting the museum.
Timeline
1958: The painting is donated to the University of Arizona.
1985: The painting is stolen on the day after Thanksgiving.
2017: Antique dealers find the painting in a New Mexico estate.
2019: The painting is sent to the J. Paul Getty Museum for restoration.
September 14 and October 8: The restored painting returns to Tucson and goes on exhibit.
Market Landscape
The return of a major Willem de Kooning work to a university museum follows a pattern in which institutional conservation labs, such as the J. Paul Getty Museum's, handle the restoration of recovered works. The case reflects how stolen art from regional university collections can circulate for decades before resurfacing through private estates.
Visitors to the University of Arizona Museum of Art can now see the restored painting on exhibit in Tucson. The stub does not state the exhibit's admission terms or closing date.
The takeaway
A stolen artwork can remain hidden for decades before a routine estate sale brings it back to light. Checking museum and auction records for long-missing works is one way the public can help identify them.
Further reading
Explore more Fine Art coverage tied to Tucson's museum collections.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Times of India.
