Authorities in New York City are on the hunt for an art thief who swiped a Salvador Dali painting valued at $150,000 from a gallery in Manhattan.
According to a report by the NY Post , the man, described as slightly balding and wearing a black and white checkered shirt, posed as a customer at the Venus Over Manhattan art gallery, on Madison Avenue, before he removed the Dali painting from the wall, put it into a bag and fled.
Police say the heist occurred at about 4pm on Wednesday.
“We’re cooperating fully with the police and have no further comment,” said Adam Lindemann, a famed art dealer and owner of the Venus Over Manhattan gallery.
The NY Daily reports that prior to the incident, the thief told a security guard who was keeping an eye on him, “I want to take a picture of this painting,” motioning to the Dali.
As soon as the guard stepped away — distracted by another visitor — the crook tossed the artwork into a bag and left.
A series of still images captured by a surveillance camera show the crook exiting the darkened, third-floor gallery carrying a heavyweight paper shopping bag, sources said.
The stolen painting, a 1949 piece titled “Cartel des Don Juan Tenorio,” was part of the gallery’s inaugural exhibition.
Here is a shot of Dali’s Cartel des Don Juan Tenorio :
Anyone with information about the missing painting is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
ABC News has more on the stolen Salvador Dali painting in the video clip below:
