There are thefts of paintings worth millions, after which there are thefts of objects of lesser financial worth whose value can’t be completely quantified. The mysterious taking of a sculpture of Elvis Presley on the New York restaurant Jolene in 2021 falls into the latter class, but it surely’s of art-world curiosity as a result of it entails a painter of observe.
This weird heist is the topic of a new investigation in the New Yorker, and it seems that artist Jo Messer took half, reportedly aiding her father Sam Messer, additionally a painter, and her mom Eleanor Gaver, a filmmaker, in thieving the Elvis bust. Jo has had solo reveals with galleries reminiscent of 56 Henry and Morán Morán.
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In line with the New Yorker, Gaver purchased the Elvis in 1984 and positioned it within the window of the Nice Jones Cafe, the place she labored on the time. That restaurant closed in 2017, and in 2019, one other eatery with completely different possession, the Jones, opened as a replacement. (Throughout the pandemic, it rebranded as Jolene.) Gaver and her husband made the choice to take again the Elvis after asking for it again and being denied.
In 2021, Gaver reportedly wrested the Elvis from Jolene. The New Yorker reported that she entered the restaurant, took it, and left with it whereas her husband and her daughter waited outdoors. Messer père had left Vishwas Wesley, the final supervisor of Jolene, along with his title and quantity, however, Jo informed the New Yorker, “I used to be like, ‘Why would you give them our info?’” She then left Wesley with $100.
The drama didn’t finish there. Jo continued to DM with the restaurant on Instagram, which had posted about its seek for the Elvis sculpture, spurring an outcry amongst New Yorkers. “It’s not your historical past—it’s our historical past,” Jo informed the New Yorker, responding to the restaurant’s competition that the sculpture was a invaluable piece of East Village lore to which it might lay declare.
We gained’t spoil the remainder of the New Yorker story, however we’ll tease it by saying it additionally features a police investigation, the novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, and allegations that Jolene had ripped off John Baldessari on Instagram.
