RICHARD WEISMAN, FUHS 1958, ROBBED

A multimillion-dollar collection of original artwork by famed pop art icon Andy Warhol was stolen last week from a West Los Angeles home, according to police.On Sept. 3, a housekeeper for noted art collector Richard L. Weisman walked into the dining room of Weisman's residence on Angelo Drive and noticed several pieces were missing, said Det. Donald Hrycyk, head of the LAPD's Art Theft detail.A dozen large portraits that had adorned the walls the day before were gone. Hrycyk said there was no sign of forced entry into the home and that nothing else was disturbed, including several other Warhol paintings hanging on nearby walls. There were no immediate leads or suspects, Hrycyk said.Weisman left the house a full day before the housekeeper discovered the art missing, leaving it unclear when exactly the theft occurred.A $1-million reward has been offered by an anonymous source for information leading to the recovery of the paintings. Weisman, who was friends with Warhol, commissioned the silk-screen paintings in the late 1970s – a time when Warhol produced hundreds of pieces of work for wealthy patrons able to pay the roughly $25,000 he charged for portraits. While not considered by collectors to be examples of Warhol's best painting work, "The Athletes" series is well-known.The total value of the work was not immediately known."I commissioned him to do this set of athletes because, generally speaking, the worlds of art and sports don't mesh that well," Weisman said in a recent interview with The Times.Weisman, who could not be reached for comment, lent out the collection, which includes the likenesses of Dorothy Hamill, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali and Chris Evert, in the spring for a benefit exhibition that also featured the artwork of under-privileged children living in Watts.

Owner of stolen Andy Warhol paintings waives insurance policy
The West L.A. art collector, who reportedly stood to recoup $25 million for the 11 pieces, told the Seattle Times that he doesn't want to go through the hassle of the insurer's investigation.
By Joel Rubin October 16, 2009

The owner of a multimillion-dollar collection of artwork stolen last month has unexpectedly waived the insurance policy he owns to protect the paintings, Los Angeles police detectives confirmed Thursday. The art world was abuzz in early September with word that a series of original works by famed Pop Art icon Andy Warhol had been stolen from the walls of noted art collector Richard L. Weisman's Westside Los Angeles home.
In all, 11 brightly colored silk screen paintings were gone -- 10 are portraits of famous athletes and one is of Weisman, 69, who was friends with Warhol and commissioned the series in the late 1970s. Each piece was estimated by some experts to be worth at least $1 million.
Dets. Donald Hrycyk and Mark Sommer, who make up the Los Angeles Police Department's art theft detail, had few leads to follow. There was no sign of forced entry and no substantial witness accounts. And, oddly, other valuable pieces of art in the home had been left untouched. Now, Weisman has said he is not going to pursue a payout from the company that insured the paintings. "It is curious," Sommer said. "We'd like to talk to him about it." Sommer said it has been difficult to track down Weisman. The detective added that there are no suspects in the case.
News of the canceled policy was first reported by the Seattle Times, which said Weisman stood to recoup $25 million for the art and quoted Weisman as saying that he would rather give up the money than go through the hassle of the insurance company's investigation into the theft. Weisman did not return calls seeking comment Thursday evening. A spokesperson for Chartis Insurance, the company that reportedly covered the work, declined to comment.