A brazen, daytime theft of a painting has a Vancouver art gallery owner shocked.
It happened at about 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning at the Ian Tan Gallery on Granville Street, just a half hour after the opening.
Two staff members were at the gallery at the time of the theft.
They were around the corner from the front door getting the gallery ready for the day, when they heard the door’s sensor beep, followed by a bang.
“By the time we got to the door, there was nobody there,” says Ian Tan, the owner of the gallery.
It was when the staff members came back in, that they noticed a $3,800 painting was missing.
Tan says the painting called “Dragon Boats at Science World” by Canadian artist Warren Chiu is a very recognizable image.
“It is an image that most Vancouverites can relate to,” says Tan. “I think someone really likes it, but does not want to pay for it, so they just came in and grabbed it.”
There is no description of the suspect and police are checking with neighbouring businesses to see if they can get any images of the culprit or culprits.
The gallery has operated on Granville Street for over 10 years, but Tan says they have never had any art work stolen from the gallery before, especially in such a brazen way.
Luckily, the painting was insured, but Tan says, going forward, they plan to be more diligent. He says they hope whoever has any information on the theft or the painting’s whereabouts will give them or Vancouver police a call.
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