Another downtown Phoenix artist has recently had a painting stolen, becoming the second victim of art theft within the last two months.
Maggie Keane had her painting titled “Wrapture” taken from The Hive art gallery at 16th and Cypress streets sometime between Sept. 18 and Sept. 19.
This theft comes in the wake of another incident last month in which local artist Bassim Al-Shaker had several of his paintings stolen from the 720 Gallery located at 720 N. 4th St. The potential value of his stolen work was estimated at about $50,000.
“It would be scary if the thefts were connected,” Keane said. “That would mean there is a concerted organized effort in Phoenix to steal art.”
The 24” by 36” piece, last seen in a blue frame, depicted a doll’s head with glass eyes in a plastic bag. It was last valued at $2,100.
However, Greg Esser, director of the Desert Initiative for the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, said he doesn’t think the two thefts are connected.
“It is awful though,” Esser said. “Especially with the economic situation as it is, most of the artists living in downtown Phoenix are working second jobs to support themselves and make their art, and it’s just abhorrent that they are being targeted.”
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Julia Fournier, who owns and operates The Hive gallery along with her husband, suspects the theft happened either that Thursday night or Friday morning. This is the first time that The Hive has ever been robbed.
“We originally thought someone broke in while we were closed,” Fournier said. “But that doesn’t make sense, because they would have had to have a key, or have come over the roof through the courtyard and then somehow get out again. It would be very difficult. Plus, nothing was disturbed in the store.”
Phoenix Police Department believes that one of the many homeless persons that congregate on 16th Street might have taken the piece, Fournier said.
“Someone must have walked in while we were open,” Fournier said. “My husband was walking back and forth from the workshop to the gallery from 6:00 to 6:30 that night, it must have happened then.”
After they filed the police report, Fournier said she went across the street to George’s Wash & Dry Clean, what she described as a local hub for the homeless, to see if anyone saw anything. Two men told Fournier that they saw a woman with the painting that Thursday evening.
“What do people even do with stolen art?” Keane said. “Do they hang it up? I would be eaten alive by guilt if I hung up stolen art in my house and had to look at it every day.”
Keane made several notices in the shape of milk cartons with pictures of her painting on them and distributed them to local businesses. On the carton, she wrote “If the thief is reading this, please return it to the gallery anonymously, no questions asked. A lot of heart and soul went into its creation and you had no right to take it.”
Keane said that she could probably just paint another one, but felt that it would diminish the value of the original piece.
“At the end of the day it’s just a thing,” Keane said. “But I paint from the heart, and it does feel like a friend got kidnapped. I just want it back.”
Contact the reporter at Jzbuntin@asu.edu
