An Andy Warhol screen print of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong is mysteriously missing from a California collection. The 1972 artwork was last seen in a secure vault located in the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion at Orange Coast College (OCC) before staff reported the discovery of the piece on March 13.
After an internal investigation, the school’s campus security department sent an alert to the OCC community on March 20 asking for help. The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) is investigating the case.
“I don’t know how many people knew there was a Mao print on the vault,” said Juan Gutierrez, OCC’s director of marketing and public relations. Hyperallergicadding that the work has never been shown.
“I think there was a plan to sell it or make it part of a larger exhibit, but we only have one Warhol, so we couldn’t do a Warhol exhibit with just one,” Gutierrez said.
Gifted to the school’s foundation in 2020 through an anonymous donor, Mao’s multicolored portraits are among 199 serigraph works rendered in Warhol’s distinctive style produced by the Pop artist in five scales between 1972 and 1973. A cultural reflection of the artist’s fascination with fame and celebrity, the works also addressed propaganda mechanisms, reproducing one of the most widespread images of the president in the entire People’s Republic of China. The creation of the portraits coincided with former President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 summit with Mao, ending a 25-year period of diplomatic isolation between the US and China.
In 2015, a 1972 “Mao” serigraph painting previously owned by billionaire Steven Cohen sold for $47.5 million, including fees. The OCC print, measuring 36 x 36 inches, was valued at $50,000, according to Gutierrez, who added that the work was numbered 187 in an edition of 250 and signed by the artist in pen.
OCC officials are asking the public to contact the school’s campus security office or CMPD with details on the print’s whereabouts. Hyperallergic CMPD has been contacted for additional comment.
