The University of New Mexico’s podcast, It’s (Probably) Not Rocket Science, is launching its third season this fall with an episode focused on the recovery of two paintings stolen nearly four decades ago from UNM’s Harwood Museum of Art in Taos.
The episode, titled “Two Paintings, 40 Years, One Unexpected Homecoming,” recounts the events surrounding the theft and eventual return of Victor Higgins’ “The Aspens” and Joseph Sharp’s “Oklahoma Cheyenne.” The paintings were taken in March 1985 by Jerry and Rita Alter. At that time, the Harwood Museum functioned mainly as a public library and lacked security measures. Then-curator David Witt was away at a security conference when the theft occurred.
“Sure enough, the day he’s gone, some very infamous art thieves decided to take advantage of our situation,” said Juniper Leherissey, director of the Harwood.
Authorities including police and the FBI were contacted after the theft. The Alters would later be linked to other art crimes. For many years, it seemed unlikely that the paintings would be recovered until Lou Schachter, author of the True Crime Road Trip blog, began investigating connections between the Alters and various stolen artworks. His research into auction records led him to images of both paintings at the Alters’ estate in Cliff, New Mexico.
“I’m not an art detective,” Schachter said. “I’m not a reporter or any kind of journalist. I just, through sheer determination and force of will, connected dots that no one else had connected.”
Schachter informed Leherissey about his findings. After reviewing police reports and museum records, officials confirmed that these were indeed the missing works.
“I definitely was skeptical,” Leherissey recalled. “They didn’t say they knew where they were, but they said, we think these works belong to the Harwood.”
In 2024, the FBI’s Art Crime Team opened a case on the matter. By May 2025, after working with museum staff, agents recovered both paintings and returned them to their original home at Harwood Museum. Details about who purchased them at auction remain undisclosed by authorities. The paintings are now displayed as part of a permanent exhibit called “Taos Treasures Returned.”
“It was really surreal … all this almost mythological story and then all of a sudden they’re here, they’re in the museum,” Leherissey said. “The former curator, David Witt, thought about those paintings every day for many years, and I’m so glad they’re back. It’s definitely a homecoming for them.”
Ahead of their return, empty frames hung in place of each painting—a gesture inspired by how another institution handled a similar case involving Jerry and Rita Alter: when a Willem de Kooning painting stolen from University of Arizona was recovered in 2017.
Schachter reflected on how common such crimes are: “Art theft is much more common than people realize,” Schachter said.
For those involved with Harwood Museum and northern New Mexico’s art community—where Higgins and Sharp were influential members—the return represents more than solved mystery; it restores part of local heritage.
“I think everyone loves a happy story of an art heist,” Leherissey said. “And it’s so intriguing to have these bizarre individuals who made a habit and a living off of taking advantage of smaller institutions.”
Listeners can find this episode at podcast.unm.edu or through platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
