Bill Heirens and I corresponded on a few occasions - not many, but off and on over the years. Heirense explained the difficulty of creating his pieces in his cell and almost exclusively worked in watercolors. With that, few exist.
 
Here, the process of taping (removing tape) and bleeding can be seen. I purposely framed this piece so that you could see his imperfections as most watercolors are very difficult to do - particularly in a prison environment where perfect drying is not easy. A background correction, a bleed through, or the fine brushes used to print his name can be seen in graphic detail herein.
 
We might have a few letters left we will list in the near future. Heirens was always with appellate issues and sparingly wrote to "strangers" because of this. He died where he was sentenced and many believe he may have been innocent - many believe they had the right man all along.
 
In 30 years I have seen less than 10 paintings by William Heirens. Of those, not many exist to the size of this piece.
 
SIZE:
This precisely 10"x15" for the inset paitning, and the frame is precisely 20" in width and  24.5" in height as framed. Framed with wood filligree, linen matting and museum UV protected glass. All of this history is supported by a heavy, real wood frame. This is framed for museum display.
 
Forensics:
Watercolors are hard to explain to non fine art collectors, but I have been collecting fine art longer than true crime artifacts. This is indeed an original watercolor by Heirens. 
 
If you were faking a watercolor, it would take such a long time, then you would need the paper he typically used, the brushes he typically used, then you would need to paint a picture which he would paint (city scapes, realism) and then you would need to risk all of that with a very tricky and hard to paint signature. 
 
This just would not be done. A print, conversely, would not include the bleed throughs seen herein. You would likely choose anyone besides Heirens to forge a painting...for the time involved would not be worth the forgery...
 
Heiren's signature and this piece's title, "Tower of London," appear clearly in the lower right corner of this painting. Again, look closely at the slight bleeding of the lettering.
 
Pricing such an item is difficult as we know that once this is gone, it is gone forever and finding another is just impossible.