Artist Donates Artwork to Fill Gaps of Stolen Andy Warhol Exhibition at The Springfield Art Museum

Layfayette artist, Lindsey Wohlman, was sympathetic to the Springfield Art Museum after learning the news that artwork from the Andy Warhol exhibition was stolen. She wrote a letter offering to fill in the holes with her own artwork.

The letter was posted on her website, which reads:

Dear Nick Nelson,

I came across the articles trending last night in regards to the theft of seven Andy Warhol Soup Prints from the Springfield Art Museum. Firstly let me say this is so heartbreaking to hear.

Something about the theft of public art rubs me especially hard. Yes partly because I myself am an artist but also because this is a theft not of monetary value but of public health and happiness. Art museums are institutions that provide much more than bragging rights to cities. They are a wealth of history and knowledge. That theft transcends the dollar signs.The articles overview insurance policies and the efforts by FBI to recover the works. It is wonderful to see this being taken so seriously by these agencies.

BUT I'M LEFT WONDERING ABOUT THE HOLES IN YOUR COLLECTIONS. THE BARE WALLS THAT CALL OUT (TO ME).

And that leaves me with the reason I'm writing this letter in my blog - I want to give back. I admit I know very little about Springfield Art Museum as I have not had a chance to visit the facility (or the city for that matter) but I feel the need to contribute in the only way I can from where I am. And that contribution is through art.

Do we call it "Fill in the Blanks"?

My offer to Nick Nelson, Director of Springfield Art Museum - I would like to donate a set of my works from the "Warhol Uncanned" series to fill in the holes. This is a project I tackled several years ago with the support of kickstarter (through a successful fundraising campaign). I wanted to approach Warhol's iconic work from a the lens of someone living in the time of GMOs and food deserts. Where the label was equally powerful but the product behind it has implications of financial unrest.

Warhol mentioned eating Campbell's Soup many times during his childhood and there is no doubt in my mind that many people resonate with this statement thanks to similar personal experiences (myself included). Warhol's work transcends time in a way not seen with many other artists. His style and approach personally directed this series and many other critical approaches to other projects I have tackled (it's not much different from what I'm doing in the "Resurrecting Audubon" series).

IF THIS SEEMS LIKE A WORTHY ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION, PLEASE DROP ME A LINE THROUGH MY SITE. I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HAND DELIVER THEM, BUT I'D LOVE TO CHAT NO LESS. AND IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL KEEP FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED THAT THE VALUABLE WORKS ARE RETURNED TO THE SPRINGFIELD ART MUSEUM.

Since writing the letter, the museum responded favorably and Wohlman is in the process of shipping her works to the museum.