The Legend of Montie Ritchie versus the International Art Thieves

Illustration by Thor Johnson

Glasstire took a trip into the Panhandle recently and was pleasantly surprised to find the excellent Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection of gentleman-rancher Montgomery Ritchie on view at the Amarillo Museum of Art (through March 26). When we returned home, DFW artist Thor Johnson had a surprising and very personal tale to share with us about a brazen attempted art theft of the Ritchie collection, circa 1980s, involving Belgian criminals, a helicopter, Uzis, and (VERY) armed ranch hands. We don’t know how much of this is true, but we love it. Listen to Johnson recount the tale here.