An iconic print by Andy Warhol has been reported stolen from Orange Coast College, leaving college officials and law enforcement scratching their heads. The portrait of Mao Zedong, valued at a cool $50,000, went missing from the college's secure vault with no apparent signs of forced entry, catching everyone off guard.
The artwork, one of a series of 250 prints, was last accounted for on March 13, according to NBC Los Angeles. It was never displayed but instead had been socked away since an anonymous donation in 2020. This presumes a level of inside access to the vault which is locked by a keypad and now the questions pop up about who might be involved, as it wasn't a one-man job, they say.
The Costa Mesa Police Department confirmed the absence of any forced entry, hinting at a potential inside job at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, "When you have the name Andy Warhol, that's going to capture people's attention," Juan Gutierrez, the school spokesman, told NBC Los Angeles, underscoring the print's cultural and monetary value.
Orange Coast College officials, still hopeful for the print's safe return, have extended an olive branch, "If someone has it and returns it we won't ask a whole lot of questions," Doug Bennett, executive director of the OCC Foundation, conveyed to CBS News Los Angeles, suggesting a no-questions-asked policy if the piece were to miraculously return, possibly show up on the doorstep of the college, or maybe even the police station, Bennett said, as an echo of their wishful thinking.
With a serial number of 187 out of 250 and Warhol's signature in ballpoint pen, the print has a recorded value and historic lineage since its acquisition by the donor in 1974. The Warhol piece, while locked away, had been an open secret among some at the college, with its theft now placing a spotlight on the college's security measures and the priceless educational assets it hosts. Anyone with information regarding the missing Warhol is encouraged to contact the Costa Mesa Police Department in hopes that this critical piece of cultural history can be reclaimed.
