The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

[stilldign]

The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

In the late 1970's Ted DeGrazia buried 18 million dollars worth of paintings. And, in the 1980's, Ted found this shovel head in a box of Cracker Jack.

 

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[pippinwhitepaws]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

ok...so you are saying you have found the lost degrazia paintings?

can we see some photos of such treasure?

 

[Satori]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Burned not buried

From the official DeGrazia website (http://degrazia.org), bio page:

"To protest inheritance taxes on works of art, DeGrazia hauled about 100 of his paintings on horseback to the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix and set them ablaze in 1976. This infamous event was reported in such publications as The Wall Street Journal and People magazine, becoming part of DeGrazia's legend before his death in 1982."


Satori

 

[cactusjumper]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

stilldign,

"It doesn't take long to realize that somewhere, somehow, DeGrazia was shown certain coding techniques used by the Illuminati when making their treasure maps."

I had no idea that the "Illuminati" created "treasure maps". Where does one go to find out about that? Why did you decide that it was Ted DeGrazia rather than Bob Ward who was instructed in the "Illuminati" codes? It was Bob who drew the map.

Thanks,

Joe Ribaudo

 

[Peerless67]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Its strange how things go, I had never heard of this guy before, until his name came up in another thread that I was interested in. I believe the reason the press reported he had burned his paintings is because he went into the superstitions with a reporter who wrote the attached article.
However, having taken onboard information from others in that thread I did some more research and now I really could not say one way or the other if he did burn the paintings. But it is easy to understand why people would hold the belief he did if they had seen the article.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

de Grazia is an icon of southwest art. big eyed childrens...

if you ever get the opportunity to visit angel springs, you will see that man was in love with the desert.

 

[ThTx]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Stilldign,

There seem to be quite a few people on this site who mostly irritate and agitate. And, honestly, I'm sure most of us do it at least occasionally. Just keep digging and ignore when they (or I ) agitate you.

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Greetings all,

Thanks to an email this morning from Floyd Mann who provided me with the link to this thread I have read this thread with much interest. Thanks Floyd!!!! Lost Treasure magazine ran only one article on De Grazia's Lost Works which I researched and wrote. That story appeared in the May, 2004 issue on page 54. For editorial reasons 400+ words that are in the manuscript did not appear in the magazine version. Before writing the article I did extensive research not only on the treasure story, but on Ted & Marion De Grazia, Frank De Grazia, Robert "Bob" L. Ward, and cinematographer Ron Walker, all of whom are directly linked to the De Grazia story. I also interviewed others who are indirectly involved which include, Daniel Parten whose Website offered Ward's book, two treasure maps said to show the spot where De Grazia buried a fortune in rare collectible paintings (some never before seen by the public), Lance Laber and Sue Foster both of the De Grazia Foundation, and members of De Grazia's Gallery in the Sun.

My extensive file on De Grazia's Lost Works also include correspondence with several treasure hunters who have made claims to have found De Grazia's Lost Works, or have located the site where his works were hidden. Some of the following information did not run in the magazine version. I offer them in hopes that one of you will solve the mystery.

[1] - I have no comment on the Illuminati connection.

[2] - It is a fact that Ted did burn over 100 of his paintings at Angel Springs to protest the new tax laws of 1969. The lesser known facts about Ted's protest are... (A) The protest took place at Angel Springs in the Superstition Mtn(s). Ted claimed Angel Springs was selected as the location of his protest because it was a special and spiritual place for him. The fact is to reach Angel Springs required a 5 hour trek on horseback. So the media interviewed Ted in town not in the Superstitions. Friends actually accompanied Ted into the mountains, where film footage and photo's of the burning are claimed to have been made. If any media actually went to Angel Springs is unclear as such a trip would've excluded most. Any member of the media present that day were likely friends of Ted's.

- The media coverage including images of the artwork being burned were staged. This fact was confirmed by one of my research associates who knows Ted's brother, Frank De Grazia. Shortly after the staged event Frank stated that the protest was truly Ted's way to call attention to what he believed to be an unfair tax law that would've broke his relatives who would've been in line to inherit his works should he die. Likewise the IRS intended to tax Ted for the unsold works he'd created and had never sold. The works that were actually burned for the "photo op" at Angel Springs were early, unfinished, or paintings deemed undesirable by Ted, all of which he had no intention to release to the public.

[C] The paintings Ted had in his personal inventory were the ones the IRS had taken an interest in. These paintings, although said to have been destroyed in the Angel Springs protest are the ones believed to have been cached by Ted and his trusted friend, Bob Ward. As to motive on the surface it appears said actions came as a measure to prevent the IRS from taxing Ted on his unsold works which the Gov't considered to be "taxable inventory." My research reveals another more likely motive for Ted to have buried his personal collection.

[3] - Ted didn't need to bury his paintings high up in the Superstitions as is claimed. It would've been much easier to have cached them somewhere on his property. He died a multi-millionaire so he had plenty of resources and other options available to him. None of which would've required such a long journey or the loss of his unsold works, since he may have wanted to sell any one or more of his paintings later to generate funds for whatever purpose. To understand his motive you'd need to study the man and his character. Ted was wealthy and his lifestyle has been described as being "larger then life." He was a colorful character who was a native son of Arizona. Through his art it could be said that Arizona fell in love with the man, who was described frequently as being Arizona's "Irreverent Angel." From research I would describe Ted as a man who lived in a state of extended adolescence until his death in 1982. He didn't punch a time-clock or become dependent on a typical 9 to 5 job for income. And while he did attend to his personal affairs in the "real world" where you & I live, he best loved the time he spent prospecting in the Superstitions, and reading tales of lost mines and buried treasures. Much like a kid.

[A] Enter Bob Ward. Bob wrote about the treasure legends associated with the Superstitions for a local newspaper. He was poor, and didn't own property, a home, or much else. After serving in the Korean War he didn't return home to Salem, Oregon. Instead he became a drifter until he finally settled in Arizona in 1958. Once there he lived in a small cabin on the Quarter Circle U Ranch with the Superstitions as his backdrop. He was known to wonder through these mountains, often on foot, which ultimately connected him to his part-time writing job at the newspaper. It was these things that Ward had in common with De Grazia. How they met I don't know, but its likely De Grazia may have read Ward's articles in the newspaper. Regardless the two became close friends and remained so until De Grazia's death. The two of them spent a good deal of time researching tales of lost treasure in the Superstition Mtn(s) and both spent a lot of their free time (which both seem to have had plenty of) searching the Superstitions for the Lost Dutchman and other legends.

During this time De Grazia had already become a famous and wealthy artist. He had command over the media to the extent that anytime he wanted to be spotlighted in the press he created an event. I therefore believe that Ted wasn't entirely satisfied being an Arizona artist and luminary. I believe De Grazia wanted to become immortal by becoming one of the legends that are passed from generation to generation about the Superstitions. And what better way for a man of considerable means to accomplish this then to create his own legend of lost wealth within the landscape of the already mystical Superstition Mtn(s). And with the help of Ward and others he did successfully accomplish this task in his lifetime.

Evidence to support my claim comes from several sources, the first being Lance Laber of the De Grazia Gallery who stated when interviewed that Ted frequently told people that he'd hid several of his works in the Superstitions and they belonged to whoever found them. When verifying this statement I found it to be "common knowledge" among gallery workers as well as those with his foundation. His brother Frank De Grazia, of Florence, whom Ted appointed as Director of his Gallery also stated Ted had buried several of his paintings... But not in the Superstitions!

Sorry but I got to run into town - but I will finish this when I return.

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

~ CONTINUED ~

[4] - According to what the Lost Treasure article refers to as "The Bothne Version," Frank De Grazia said in 1976 after his brothers protest, that Ted told him that he'd cached his private collection of paintings at Apache Junction, not in the Superstitions. Its an interesting point since this information came from Ted's brother and the man he later appointed as director of his art gallery. So why Apache Junction? Ted owned property and built his first gallery in Apache Jct. Lets assume this info. is correct. Then how come all of those who claim to have broken the cipher to Ward's map continue to search in the Superstitions?

(A) The Ward Maps -- It is claimed that Ted and Bob both worked on Ward's first map which appears in his book: Ripples of Lost Echo's. This is not verified and comes under reasonable suspicion since it took Ward eight years after De Grazia's death to publish his book. His motives must be considered and since he took them to the grave we cannot find out about the delay in publishing, or what his financial status at the time was that may have played a big role in his decision to go public... (get paid.)

Then there is the Ward Map # 2. According to Ward because the cipher from his published map had not been broken he believed it was to difficult and would never be broken. So he creates a "simpler version" of the original map so that it could be broken. Based on his own reasoning for creating a 2nd map it appears that Ward wanted to be alive to witness the event. Or could it be that he was just short on cash at the time? And if the "simpler version" of his map really did tell the secret location to a fortune in buried art, then why hasn't anyone broke the cipher and found De Grazia's Lost Works? Maybe breaking the 2nd cipher wasn't all that simple, or maybe the book, and both maps were just cash cows for a pauper who had a story to sell?

[5] - The Rainbow Version as it is referred to in Lost Treasure is perhaps the best clue in support of my theory that De Grazia was living an extended adolescence. De Grazia was involved with a number of low budget films. One 16mm film was shot by cinematographer, Ron Walker and entitled: "End of the Rainbow." De Grazia stars in the leading role as a man who buries several valuable paintings in the Superstition Mtn(s) and leaves a treasure map that leads to the site. Since this was De Grazia's cinematic version of his own self-portrait I suspect one would find more clues to his lost works in this film then in either of the Ward maps.

Note: After the Lost Treasure article ran I was contacted by an individual who identified himself as Bill James, using the screen name "dign4it," and the email of- dign4it@yahoo.com. Said person claimed he had found the Lost De Grazia Works by breaking the Ward cipher. He stated he had contacted an art gallery in order to properly "uncork" the containers containing De Grazia's paintings, so as not to damage them. Our correspondence began on Feb. 7, 2004 and ended on Feb. 22, 2004. After the 22nd I never heard from James again.

Another person using the name of Alan Andrews contacted me and we agreed to met in California so that he could show me proof that the De Grazia paintings had in fact been buried in the Superstitions, but had already been recovered by an unknown person years before. He stated he'd broken the Ward cipher and went to the site where De Grazia had cached his art. On arrival he discovered some unknown party had already beaten him to the prize. He offered to show me the codex used by Ward in his maps, as well as photos of the site which he found had been excavated upon his arrival. He stated that whoever removed De Grazia's paintings must have done so years earlier as the condition of the excavation indicated it was recent.

Unfortunately an emergency arose on the day i was to meet with Mr. Andrews and I could not reach him. All efforts to reach him since have failed. To date no information has been made public regarding any recovery of the Lost De Grazia Works.

I believe Ted did cache paintings likely in the Superstitions and at Apache Jct. since he was a complex man who was driven by the legends of the Superstitions and of lost treasures. He would have known exactly how to preserve his works for a long stay underground in Arizona's arid climate. Anyone claiming to have broken the Ward cipher may have done just that, although I doubt either one of Ward's maps lead to anything other than his next check for beer and pretzel money. So before I believe any of De Grazia's works have been found you'll have to show them to me. Good luck to all who seek the Lost De Grazia Works!!!

The Hangman

 

[Peerless67]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Thanks for the posts hangman, I enjoyed reading them.

Gary

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Thank you Peerless67.

Stilldign sounds like you may be the same person that I was corresponding with years ago. Glad to see ur still at it! I agree research is limited here as no one directly involved is likely still among the living, with the one possible exception of Ted's brother Frank, which is a long shot @ best. His wife Marion passed in 2002 so its a crap-shoot but that contributes to all the fun we have doing the bookwork.

I send you my best in located De Grazia's lost works and wish you well in all ur endeavors. I'd like to see nothing more then to have this mystery solved. Keep up the good work and by all means let us know if you are blessed with success.

Best regards,
Hangman

 

[Peerless67]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

For those interested, the subject gets touched on in this thread

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,204825.0.html

Although the thread deals with Villa, we did explore DeGrazia there. Which is where my own interest was spurred.

Gary

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Stilldign =

It’s to bad you feel as you do, but the only person you have to blame for the situation you’re in is you. As a retired police chief let me advise you that no theft has taken place, nor do I appreciate your inference that I stole anything from you. FYI here is the facts…

• First, you, not me put what you refer to as “your story” on the Internet. You posted your claims to Floyd’s forum, not me. Therefore you went public with “your story.” I had nothing to do with that.

• Second, don’t flatter yourself into thinking you had anything to do with my De Grazia story. You contributed nothing and only received scant mention at the end. Nor are you listed as a source for the story. In my research file I have every post you made on Floyd’s forum regarding De Grazia, and every email communication between us. It should have been clear to you that I was already researching De Grazia’s lost works before you ever posted anything about him on the forum.

In my email to you dated… Sat, 7 Feb 2004 at 11:17 am I wrote, “Thanks for your reply on the forum. This is timely as I’ve been researching the De Grazia story for an article in [NAME OF PUBLICATION OMITTED] and if you’ve made a find here it would surely effect the direction of MY story.” So right out of the gate you knew I had been researching De Grazia at the time of your posting. You knew it was my intention to write an article on De Grazia for publication. And what did you do? You continued of your own free will to correspond with me for the next 15 days.

• You replied to my email of Feb. 7th on Mon, 9 Feb 2004 at 12:06 pm. Here are excerpts from your email to me… “When I tell you something it is the truth, and it is honest. The proof of my honesty will come soon enough.” You claimed you had recovered some or all of De Grazia’s lost works. You claimed you had contacted the De Grazia Foundation and informed them about your good fortune in having found De Grazia’s paintings. You said… “I’m waiting for a reply from the De Grazia Foundation as to the proper care when ‘uncorking’ the tubes. I don’t know which tubes have drawings and which have paintings, and it’s the paintings that concern me. They have been rolled up and buried in air tight containers [“tubes”] for many years and I don’t want to blow it.” Yet when I checked with the De Grazia Foundation I was told they knew nothing of you, and had not been contacted by anyone claiming to have found any De Grazia paintings. Imagine that?

• From your T/N post of Jan. 25, 2009 which is address to: Hangman, you say… “I'll be straight up...........I screwed up when I revealed that I had recovered these paintings back then...it was totally premature. There is certainly no excuse for having done this.” Hey pal don’t beat yourself up to bad. I believe you do have an excuse, and that is that you’re a liar. Straight up.

• Again from your T/N post dated Jan. 26, 2009, you whine… “This story was mine.” Wrong again, you’ve contributed zip to this story which rightfully belongs to Ted De Grazia and the general public.

• And here’s another piece of your post that I find soaked in your arrogance… “Yet, when the story breaks....NOW you're right there to steal my story!!!!!” When the story breaks? Who do you think “broke” this story? I did, when I wrote it. Where were you when I was up late nights reading and researching De Grazia. Where were you when I wrote the actual text? Where were you when it came time to pay the long distance charges on my phone bill in order for me to contact and interview the real people who are / were involved with this story? Damn straight I got paid for my work, that’s the American way.

• What I do contributes to the enjoyment and overall good of our hobby. I’m paid money which I pay taxes on. Therefore the publication and I are doing our part to support the American economy, and way of life. What you contributed to Floyd’s forum in 2004 was absolute lies. What you now contribute to T/N so far as I can tell is more of the same.

You made your bed, now sleep in it!

The Hangman


Anthony M. Belli

 

[djui5]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Anthony,
Thank you so much for contributing your posts to this site!!! That was a fascinating read and I really appreciate you sharing it.

Sorry to see "stilldiggin" giving you a hard time. It happens a lot around here though. People just seem to come up with the strangest responses out of no where. It's crazy

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Thank you djui5! Being a retired cop I somehow seemed to naturally gravitate towards research work... and being a THer / Ghost Towner guy my investigative background seems to have been a good fit with researching and investigating treasure leads. So I'm always glad to share and enjoy posting my research and articles online.
It good to get a nice comment once in awhile - so thanks again.

Best regards,

Hangman

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

theft of intellectual property is a crime.
proving theft is another thing.

just a footnote, why is every good topic ruined by someone(s) personal vendetta?

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

well that sucks.

 

[RelicHunterSantise]

Re: The Buried DeGrazia Paintings: "Dig Here"

Interesting thread.

 

[rangler]

Re: The Premature Burial of Still Dign!

stilldign,
Thank you dign for all that you have posted over the years, all over the web.
I have followed your posts over many websites for over a decade or more now!
I dont know where you get your information from, but it is not from the typical sources
Your information and advise to me and others that I have know has been "perfect" and right on!
You have been most generous and free this this inside information that you have.

Since you reveal things that some folks dont what released , I have seen you take incredible flack
Time and time again I have seen you " run out of town on a rail" "tarred and feathered to boot"
At times and in places where I have tried to defend you and your information , the onslaught turned
their guns on me, and I took many a hard lump.

When I started writing about the solutions of signs
, they all but thought I was you..hahaha, They tried everything to discredit me, But I persevered and
carried on and adapted. AS is my training from the days in combat. But I have never seen one person,
such as you , with all of your knowledge and insight be so mistreated and misaligned in my life.

I would hope and pray that you do not now 'self-destruct' and leave us with this self imposed exile !
Hey we are all only human, and the generosity and the wisdom you have more that outweighs a few
character flaws, that all of us suffer in one way or another.

I know for a fact the men of higher intelligence, tend to hold them selves to some pretty high standards
and tend to ' beat themselves up' and punish themselves more severely then others might do., when some
fault or mistaken happens, but hells bells man, take it easy on yourself.,there are plenty that want to see
you fail and exit out of the forums, but those people arent the ones that count. They are greedy or angry
or fearfull that there secrets will get out and they will lose what they consider is their treasure.

Damn Dign, I guess you have no clue how the ones who depend on your understanding about treasure
clues feel, since we normally dont say to much , but the vocal ones who fear your information coming out
protest loudly, not to mention the object nay-sayers, the flat-liners, who know absolutely nothing about
treasure signs and continue to bask in the negativity that they dispense, - mere uniformed critics who get
there kicks telling others that they 'have nothing', that the rock they found 'is' nothing, over and over again.,
like some warped versions of tree huggers for treasures hunters. .. these people are only a minor distraction
, a pain in the ass, as it where. . They are certainly no reason to 'chuck it all' and head for the hills.

Overcome, adapt, and persevere, please Mr. Dign, there are lots of us here who appreciate your wisdom and your
posts. We have come to rely on your insights to these puzzles of the Spanish and others.. I would have never got
passed the first site I worked on , if it had not been for your timely advice. There are many others like me,
who feel the same way.

Do not go quietly into that good night Sir. Stay, help us make the stand, fight the forces of evil, and the ones
who what to spread disinformation and discord. Keep up the good work sir, we all pray that you will !

auferiously
rangler

ps As an aside, I would like to mention something that happened to a friend of mine regarding dign and a email
he received, they had been corresponding and when my friend ask for some advice on a sign, he received a 'stinging'
email with profanities and abuse, well my friend was taken aback , as this was not digns usually style at all. and when
my friend emailed him about this email, he stated that 'it wasn't' him and someone must have hijacked his email address
so keep this in mind, when you read responses that sound harsh and insulting, There are many people who do not
want dign to be posting on these forums and will do any thing they can to get him off here..take care and beware!

 

[The-Hangman]

Re: The Premature Burial of Still Dign!

There are many people who do not want dign to be posting on these forums and will do any thing they can to get him off here..take care and beware!

Why would anyone take the time to go to such lengths to hurt and malign this one man? Sounds like a lot of effort and to what benefit? I find ur recollections of a good friend to be respectable. But I find it hard to believe ur claim that he is somehow a... "marked man."

By-the by... No one asked him to leave. I hope he finds the lost De Grazia works, I'd love to see an end and the truth known about De Grazia, the two Ward maps, and which works did De Grazia select to leave to legend, and there value today. Great story! And if dign is the man to find them more power to him. Hell I ain't looking for them. And if the man wants to post here so be it. But if you call me a thief and a liar in public, including this or another public forum... I will respond.

If the man opts to leave, so be it. If he chooses to remain, so be it. I'll respect his decision regardless.

Cheers amigo