Front PagesantafeThe Associated Press
SANTA FE — A man walked into a Santa Fe gallery carrying a $165,000 painting taken in a January burglary, and asked gallery workers if it was their missing painting, a gallery spokeswoman says.
"We said yes," said Elizabeth Brockmann, comptroller at Nedra Matteucci's Fenn Galleries.
The 20- by 14-inch oil painting by Taos Society of Artists founder Joseph Henry Sharp was taken the night of Jan. 28. Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson said at the time that a burglar apparently climbed a wall and entered the gallery through an unlocked back door and removed the painting.
"All we know is that it was found by a third party," Brockmann said. "We don't know his name. He called first and said he thought he had it."
Brockmann said the painting was found outside of Santa Fe.
The man made no attempt to sell the painting to the gallery when he arrived Tuesday, she said.
She called police, and the man left with them.
Johnson would not release any information about the man or the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the art.
The work, called "Jerry with Apache Bow and Arrows," was painted in 1921. It shows one of the artist's favorite models, Jerry "Elk Foot" Mirabal of Taos Pueblo, with a blue blanket draped over one shoulder, a bow and several arrows in his hand.
The painting disappeared during a rash of artwork thefts from Santa Fe galleries and museums, including two Georgia O'Keeffe paintings from downtown museums.
Earlier in January, a $500,000 O'Keeffe painting had been taken from the private Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It was recovered and former security guard William Crumpton was charged in the case. Another O'Keeffe, valued at $500,000 to $1 million, was taken Dec. 16 from the state-owned Museum of Fine Arts. It has not been found.
Other artworks taken in various thefts included a $30,000 Pueblo bowl and a $125,000 Stuart Davis painting.
Eight pieces of jewelry worth a total of $20,310 were stolen from the Fenn Galleries when the Sharp painting was taken. Brockmann said the jewelry has not been recovered.
The painting "looked relatively OK," she said, although she said the gallery had not examined it.
The work now belongs to the gallery's insurance company, Aon-Huntington Block. Brockmann would not say how much the insurance company paid to cover the theft.
She also said the gallery had not considered its options about whether the painting would be returned to the gallery for consignment or go up for auction.
santafeThe Associated Press
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