Springfield, Mo. – The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information as investigators keep looking into the theft of Andy Warhol’s paintings from the Springfield Art Museum, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The stolen artwork involves seven of 10 prints of Campbell Soup cans.
Investigators said in an announcement on Monday that the incident occurred early on Thursday, April 7. The Warhol Collection at the museum is valued at $500,000 and city spokeswoman Cora Scott said all the art pieces at the Springfield Art Museum are covered by a fine arts insurance policy, which has an annual premium of about $14,000, Fox News reported.
The FBI said the southwest Missouri museum has owned the collection depicting Campbell’s Soup cans since 1985. Director Nick Nelson confirmed to the Springfield News-Leader that the building has video surveillance but declined to give information on whether cameras showed any images of the theft.
“The museum is working with the proper authorities and being proactive in our security efforts as we remain open to the public. We are confident that the measures we taking will protect the museum’s treasures, while still making art accessible to our community,” Nelson said in a statement released on the museum’s website.
The museum is open but there is no access to the “The Electric Garden of Our Minds: British/American Pop”, the exhibit in which the prints were displayed.
Reuters reported that an FBI spokeswoman declined to release details of the theft and that the bureau’s Art Crime Team was conducting the respective investigation.
The FBI is asking anyone with information to contact the FBI Springfield, Missouri Resident Agency at (417) 882-3303 or the Springfield Police Department TIPS line at (417) 689-TIPS.
The stolen artwork measure 37 inches high by 24.5 inches wide. They are framed in white frames.
Source: CBS News