Artwork Stolen After Artist Leaves It On Street In San Francisco's North Beach
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A painting stolen in San Francisco several weeks ago may have been taken by couple who thought it was free. The artist hopes surveillance video helps track the couple down.
April 11th was a sunny Saturday morning in North Beach, and a couple soaking in the vitamin D thought they found a steal, a painting just leaning outside a garage on Water Street. Except this couple's treasure wasn't another person's trash and wasn't free.
The colorful landscape worth $5,500 belongs to artist Nicholas Coley, who was trying to make a sale.
"We came back out 15 minutes later and some of the paintings were gone," Coley told KPIX 5 "I did shut the garage door, so maybe they just thought they were just like thrown out."
The art lovers walked down Water Street and even sealed their joy over their new wall hanging with a kiss.
"Does it happen? Yes. In San Francisco if you put something outside, there's a very good chance somebody will take it," said Officer Carlos Manfredi of the San Francisco Police Department.
Coley and the officer said they don't think a crime occurred here.
"Typically, if you're a bad guy and you're going to steal something, you're going to grab it really quickly and you're gonna run," Manfredi said.
For his part, Coley just wants his painting back, no charges, no questions asked. "It's sorta just upsetting. It's how I feed my kids. We have a 10-month-old baby girl and my wife and somehow we're making a living selling art," he said.
