{"id":285598,"date":"2025-06-10T10:44:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/stolen-paintings-linked-to-retired-couple-who-supposedly-moonlighted-as-art-thieves-returned-to-new-mexico-museum-after-40-years\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T10:44:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:44:33","slug":"stolen-paintings-linked-to-retired-couple-who-supposedly-moonlighted-as-art-thieves-returned-to-new-mexico-museum-after-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=285598","title":{"rendered":"Stolen Paintings Linked to Retired Couple Who Supposedly Moonlighted as Art Thieves Returned to New Mexico Museum After 40 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Victor Higgins\u2019 \u201cAspens\u201d and Joseph Henry Sharp\u2019s \u201cOklahoma Cheyenne\u201d had been missing since March 1985, when they were snatched in broad daylight<\/h2>\n
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Sarah Kuta<\/a><\/p>\n

– Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"Oklahoma
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Oklahoma Cheyenne<\/em>, Joseph Henry Sharp, circa 1915 (left) and Victor Higgins,\u00a0Aspens<\/em>, circa 1932 (right)
\n Harwood Museum of Art<\/span>
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Paintings with ties to an infamous New Mexico couple<\/a> have been returned to the museum they were stolen from 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

Last Friday, officials at the University of New Mexico\u2019s Harwood Museum of Art<\/a> unveiled<\/a> Victor Higgins\u2019 oil painting Aspens<\/em><\/a><\/em> (circa 1932) and Joseph Henry Sharp\u2019s oil-on-canvas piece Oklahoma Cheyenne<\/em><\/a><\/em> <\/em>(circa 1915), also known as Indian Boy in Full Dress<\/em>. The men were members of the Taos Society of Artists<\/a>, a group of visual artists based in Taos, New Mexico, between 1915 and 1927.<\/p>\n

The paintings had been missing<\/a> from the museum\u2019s walls since March 1985, when they were snatched in broad daylight. It took four decades and lots of sleuthing by an amateur historical crime researcher to get them back to their rightful owner. They\u2019re now on display as part of the museum\u2019s \u201cThe Return of Taos Treasures\u201d exhibition.<\/p>\n

The FBI, which located and recovered the works, has not announced any arrests in connection with the theft. However, the missing masterpieces have been linked<\/a> with Jerry and Rita Alter, an unassuming husband and wife who purportedly led double lives as high-stakes art thieves.<\/p>\n

Jerry died in 2012, followed by Rita in 2017. After the couple\u2019s deaths, antiques dealer David Van Auker was tasked with appraising<\/a> the contents of their three-bedroom home in Cliff, New Mexico, a tiny town near the state\u2019s southwestern corner.<\/p>\n

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The paintings were returned to the University of New Mexico’s Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Bill Curry<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Van Auker found a painting hanging in the couple\u2019s primary bedroom that turned out to be Willem de Kooning\u2019s 1955 Woman-Ochre<\/em><\/a><\/em>, which had been pilfered from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in November 1985. A photograph of the couple placed them in Tucson<\/a> the day before the theft.<\/p>\n

The discovery of the missing de Kooning\u2014worth an estimated $160 million and eventually returned<\/a> to the Arizona museum\u2014made headlines around the world. In 2022, director Allison Otto<\/a> explored the story further in her documentary The Thief Collector<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lou Schachter<\/a>, who became a historical crime researcher after retiring from his corporate job, wondered if other works in the Alters\u2019 estate might have also been purloined. He started poking around<\/a> and eventually realized that two other paintings found in the Alters\u2019 home\u2014Aspens<\/em> and Oklahoma Cheyenne<\/em>\u2014were also stolen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe account of the theft at the Harwood is almost identical to the account of the theft at the University of Arizona Museum,\u201d Schachter told the Silver City Daily Press<\/em><\/a>\u2019 Juno Ogle last year. \u201cA guy comes in in a big overcoat [and] slashes the painting with a packing knife. He rolls it up and stores it in his overcoat and leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

A photo featured in The Thief Collector<\/em> also shows Jerry playing a clarinet next to a wall of artwork, including Aspens<\/em> and Oklahoma Cheyenne<\/em>, as Taos News<\/em><\/a>\u2019 Geoffrey Plant reported in December.<\/p>\n

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THE THIEF COLLECTOR – OFFICIAL TRAILER<\/p>\n

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