Museum ‘Saddened’ After Iconic Andy Warhol Art Stolen

Prints of Andy Warhol’s famous “Campbell’s Soup Cans” were stolen from the Springfield Art Museum in Missouri sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, official says. ABC 7 Chicago reports that the art was on display as part of an exhibit on British and American Pop Art. This exhibit has been shut down while the FBI and Interpol investigate.

“We’re shocked and totally saddened,” Sally Scheid, a chair on the museum’s board, said.

Springfield News-Ledger notes that in a press release from the museum, director Nick Nelson said: “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 are taking will protect the museum’s treasures, while still making art accessible to our community.”

Andy Warhol (After) Museum Framed Print Campbell’s Soup Cans Lot 1709529 https://t.co/yytR7FABsR pic.twitter.com/bO8J0pY9ur

— very palatial item (@VeryPalatial) April 7, 2016

Springfield Art Museum’s 10 Andy Warhol soup can color screenprints were made by the artist in 1968 and gifted to the museum for their permanent collection in 1985 by Ronald K., Robert C. and Larry H. Greenburg. Warhol is the most-renowned American pop art artist, and The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds a rich collection of his works and extensive archives. It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist.

Warhol became famous in the early 1960s for his now-legendary artworks featuring Campbell Soup cans. The collection consists of thirty-two canvases each depicting a painting of one of the canned soup varieties the company offered at the time. Andy showed the work on July 9, 1962, in a “fine art” exhibition in Los Angeles that marked the West Coast debut of pop art.

Warhol was a gay commercial illustrator whose fascination with celebrity culture, and its relationship with advertisement, helped to usher in pop art as a major art movement in the United States. The writer, philosopher, and film-maker was shot by radical feminist Valerie Solanas in 1968 and lived in fear of her after she was released from prison – serving only three years for attempted murder.

Warhol died in 1987 from a heart attack, and at the time, a hospital spokesman said his death was “clearly unexpected,” because he was at the hospital for gallbladder surgery.

In what is said to be his last interview, Warhol spoke with art writer Paul Taylor for Flash Art magazine in April 1987. The interviewer asked Warhol “Is there any similarity between you at the Factory and Jesus at the Last Supper?” To which Andy replied, “That’s negative, to me it’s negative. I don’t want to talk about negative things.”

Andy referred to his New York City studio as The Factory, which had three different locations between 1962 and 1984.

At the time of his death, the Washington Post quoted William Rubin, director of the department of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as saying, “Andy Warhol was a serious artist whose posture was unseriousness. He was a pioneer of image-appropriating pop art, and the implications of his work proved essential to the subsequent postmodernist movement.”

My day has been very busy — Prints of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans were stolen from Springfield’s art museum: https://t.co/8Prgx2xvdB

— Giacomo S. Bologna (@giacomo_bologna) April 8, 2016

According to Springfield Art Museum officials, someone broke into the museum and stole Warhol’s soup can artwork between 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said she was not sure how many prints were stolen or if any other artworks were stolen but she confirmed the theft occurred.

According to Cora Scott, a spokeswoman for the city, all the works donated to the museum are covered by a fine arts insurance policy that has annual premium of $14,045.

“We are still researching whether or not there has ever been a loss of artwork in the past,” she wrote in an email. “There hasn’t been an incident in any recent history. We are constantly working on improving security measures and find it a challenging balance with keeping art accessible to the community. We appreciate the outpouring of support we are already receiving from our art patrons.”

Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and Eduardo Paolozzi’s “General Dynamic F.U.N.” portfolio are included in the exhibit that has been closed due to the investigation.

[Image courtesy Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]