Art worth millions, including a Warhol, stolen from Detroit collector

By: Barry Leibowitz
Topics: Daily Blotter

1973 portrait of Andy Warhol

/ Wikipedia/Jack Mitchell

(CBS) DETROIT - The FBI is looking for 19 contemporary works of art said to be rare and valuable that were stolen from a local collector who had temporarily stored them in his business in Detroit's historic Corktown district.

According to CBS Detroit, FBI spokesman Simon Shaykhet said the works, which include a "Flowers" silkscreen by Andy Warhol, were not locked up or on display, and are reportedly worth millions.

Shaykhet said they're not ruling anything out.

"It could be somebody that could have had prior knowledge of where this art was going to be. Or it could've been a crime of opportunity where somebody happened to be inside the building and had seen it," Shaykhet told WWJ Newsradio 950.

"There's a strong likelihood that this artwork has been already taken either out of state or possibly even out of the country," the FBI spokesman said. "So we're putting out the message to anyone in the art community, anyone who's shopping online and looking at art, anyone who's involved in the pawn shop business, that these could all be avenues that someone who's stolen this art could pursue in order to try to make a profit."

A $5,000 dollar reward is being offered to anyone who finds the stolen art.

$5,000? Crimesider has finger paintings on the walls that are worth more than that!

Add A Comment +