Art enthusiasts recently got one last look at the University of Arizona's infamous Willem de Kooning painting that was stolen in the 1980s, then recovered more than 30 years later.
Woman-Ochre, which the Dutch-American artist painted in 1955, is headed for conservation work at the J. Paul Getty Museum and Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, The Arizona Republic reported last week.
On March 17, the UA Museum of Art hosted the last public viewing before the restoration. More than 250 people attended, The Republic reported. Private guards and uniformed police were on hand to protect the piece.
Woman-Ochre was damaged in the daring 1985 heist from the museum: A sharp object was used to cut it out of the museum's frame, it has horizontal creases from being rolled up, and it then was stapled into a cheap frame.
A man and a woman stole the painting the day after Thanksgiving in 1985. It was rediscovered in rural Cliff, New Mexico, in 2017, after being part of an estate sale for a recently escaped couple. The FBI continues to investigate the theft.
The conservation process is expected to take 14 or 15 months, officials said.