FBI Returns Two Stolen Paintings to Harwood Museum After 40-Year Mystery
Two paintings by Taos Society of Artists members Victor Higgins and Joseph Henry Sharp have been recovered by the FBI and will be returned to the Harwood Museum of Art, marking the resolution of a four-decade-old art theft case.
The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, will soon reunite with two stolen paintings by Victor Higgins and Joseph Henry Sharp, 40 years after they were brazenly taken from the museum's walls in 1985. FBI agents from the Santa Fe office delivered the paintings on May 12, 2025, concluding a complex investigation sparked by an investigative reporter's discovery.
The recovered artworks, *Aspens* by Higgins and *Oklahoma Cheyenne* by Sharp, will be unveiled during the museum's First Friday event on June 6, 2025. These paintings, both significant works by influential Taos Society of Artists members, represent a crucial moment in the region's artistic heritage.
The recovery began when art theft investigator Lou Schachter contacted Harwood's Executive Director Juniper Leherissey with evidence linking the paintings to the Alters, a couple featured in the documentary *The Thief Collector*. The museum's swift formation of an Art Recovery Task Force and collaboration with the FBI led to the successful retrieval of the stolen artwork.
The paintings, which sold at a Scottsdale auction in 2018 under altered titles, are now set to return to their original home. The recovery not only represents a triumph for the Harwood Museum but also highlights the persistence of art recovery efforts and the importance of preserving cultural artifacts.
FBI Special Agent Susan Garst, who led the investigation, described the return as gratifying, underscoring the significance of reuniting these artistic treasures with their rightful institution. The event symbolizes more than a simple return of paintings; it represents a restoration of artistic legacy and community memory.