Barricade Books releases Stealing Wyeth,

Book details theft of 15 paintings from estate of world-famous artist

July 26th, 2019

July 25, 2019

          The theft of 15 paintings, worth millions of dollars, from the estate of world famous artist Andrew Wyeth is the subject of a true crime book, Stealing Wyeth, to be released on August 5, 2019. The book was written by author Bruce E. Mowday

“Stealing Wyeth is a drama on several levels, a page-turning true crime story,” according to former Assistant U. S. Attorney Walter ‘Terry’ Batty, who prosecuted the case. Former FBI agent David Richter added, “Stealing Wyeth proves it doesn’t get any better for the public when law enforcement agencies work together.”

The initial printing of the book was sold out weeks before the official release of the book, according to Barricade Books of Fort Lee, N.J., and a second printing has been ordered. On Amazon this week Stealing Wyeth was ranked 50,083 out of more than 8 million books listed and 115,795 in Kindle books out of more than a million titles. Also, the book was ranked 148 in artists and photography section, 359 in individual artists and 1,179 in true crime on Amazon.

“Andrew and Jamie Wyeth are two of the best-known American painters of all time,” said author Mowday. “I’m not surprised that thieves and forgers have targeted their wonderful artistic creations over the years. I’m also not surprised that readers, those who know the Wyeth paintings and those who enjoy true crime books, are interested in the book.”

Mowday, who has authored 20 books on true crime, history, business and sports, was a newspaper reporter and covered the case. Thieves, including master cat burglar William Porter who admitted committing 1,500 crimes, broke into the Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania estate of Andrew Wyeth in the hopes of stealing a Wyeth painting for their retirement fund. The thieves took 15 paintings, seven by Andrew Wyeth, six by Jamie Wyeth and two other artists.

The book details the journey of the paintings throughout the United States, international intrigue, vicious criminals and the law enforcement team that tracked down the paintings and the crooks.

Wyeth family paintings are collected throughout the world, including the famous Helga series. Andrew is the son of N. C. Wyeth and the father of Jamie Wyeth. Recently Andrew Wyeth was featured on American Masters by PBS.

The hardback book contains a number of illustrations connected with the Wyeth family and the Brandywine school of art. The book price is $24.95 and is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Barricade Books and the author. For more information on author Mowday, see www.mowday.com or email him at mowday@mowday.com. Signed copies of his books are available by contacting Mowday.