TUCSON, Ariz. — After all this time, the restored"Woman Ochre” will be on display at the University of Arizona Museum of Art and open to the public beginning Oct. 8.
Today, William De Kooning's"Woman Ochre" hangs back in its original home at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. The woman distracted the security guard, making small talk, while the man went upstairs and cut the painting from its frame, rolled it up, and walked out.In 2017, the painting resurfaced in an estate sale in New Mexico for Rita and Jerry Alter.It was David Van Auker, Buck Burns, and Rick Johnson who acquired the estate, to take back to their antique store, the three owned in Silver City.
“I went to the computer and I went four pages into Google. I pulled up the ‘Arizona Republic’ article, by Ann Ryman, and saw the picture-my heart stopped. Because I instantly knew that it was the same painting,” said Antique Dealer Dan Van Auker.