A man walked into a San Francisco art gallery and left with a $20,000 Salvador Dali etching
San Francisco police are looking for a man who was caught on surveillance video stealing a $20,000 Salvador Dali etching from an art gallery on Sunday.
The suspect walked into Dennis Rae Fine Art and grabbed the first piece of art displayed inside the store — Dali’s “Burning Giraffe.” It was framed and displayed on an easel at the front of the store, according to CNN affiliate KGO.
“It’s quite important as far as the period of etchings,” Angela Kellett, Gallery Director of Dennis Rae Fine Art, told KGO. “It’s very, very well known. It’s a beautiful piece. It was inspired by Picasso first.”
In surveillance video obtained by KGO, a man can be seen casually walking into the gallery while another person appears to wait for him outside. Not even a minute later, the man walks out of the gallery with the etching in hand and walks away from the area.
The art piece was made by Dali between 1966 and 1967, according to KGO.
“It was our showcase item,” Kellett told KGO. “We have a special Salvador Dali show right now and, yeah, they just ran off with it, too quick for anyone to do anything about it.”
The art piece was not locked down at the time of the theft, David Schach of Dennis Rae Fine Art told CNN, and is valued at $20,000. Police said they are investigating the theft and asking for anyone with information to contact them.
In 2012, a Salvador Dali etching that was anonymously donated to Goodwill in Washington fetched $21,005 in an online auction.
