LOS ANGELES — Two of the nine Andy Warhol prints stolen from a Los Angeles movie business in a theft that went unnoticed for years have been turned over to police, an attorney for a man who had the artwork said Tuesday.
Attorney Harland Braun said he arranged to have police come to his office on Monday and pick up Warhol prints titled “Siberian Tiger” and “Bighorn Ram,” which he said were among three prints his client bought several years ago from a man involved in commercial construction.
Braun represents Bryan Calvero, who he said works at apparel company Crooks & Castles and was named in court documents in the theft case. Braun said Calvero was unaware the two prints — as well as a third one that he sold through an auction house — were reported stolen until a journalist contacted him last week.
Los Angeles police art detail detective Don Hrycyk declined to confirm the prints were returned or comment on the case.
The two pieces were among nine original Warhol prints quietly stolen from Los Angeles movie business Moviola and replaced with color copies in a burglary reported in July, police said in documents submitted to a court for a search warrant.
The nine pieces are worth an estimated $350,000. They include three prints from Warhol’s 1983 series “Endangered Species” and six from his 1980 “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century,” according to a police report.
In the affidavit, police said the theft was so seamless it was only was discovered years later after one piece was taken for reframing and staff noticed it lacked a print number and signature.
“The idea that you can have a stolen piece of art and no one knows it’s stolen, even the owner, that’s a hard concept to wrap your head around,” Braun said.
“Bald Eagle” was sold through auction house Bonhams in October 2011.
Braun confirmed Calvero sold “Bald Eagle” through Bonhams and said Calvero had little experience in art collection and relied on the auction house to ensure the piece was not stolen.
Bonhams spokeswoman Kristin Guiter said the firm has its catalogs checked against databases of stolen and lost art.
She said Bonhams asked about specific provenance “and also obtained from the consignor relevant written representations and warranties, including to the effect that all information provided by him about provenance was true and correct.”