BURGLARY AND ART.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13724, 14 April 1908, Page 5

BURGLARY AND ART.

A WELLINGTON SENSATION. VALUABLE PAINTING STOLEN. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Monday. Probably the greatest sensation that the local world of art. lias experienced lias arisen from the fact that between 5.30 p.m. on Saturday and 2.30 /7.m. yesterday the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts building in BfJlance-street was cleverly broken into, and the famous painting by Mr. B. W. Leader, R. A., stolen. The picture, one of the largest and most expensive in the gallery, was missed from its place by several visitors to the gallery yesterday afternoon, and on inquiry being made as to its whereabouts the astonishing news that it was missing was learned. The discovery of the theft was made by Mr. Walter Leslie, who had undertaken to open and supervise the gallery yesterday afternoon, a duty that devolves weekly on members and friends of the Art Society. Mr. Leslie states that when ho arrived at the gallery the first thing that struck him as strange was the discovery that the keyhole was plugged, but after a little manoeuvring with a blade of his penknife, he succeeded in extracting a wooden plug, which had been pared down so as to fit the keyhole exactly. On entering he took a cursory look round, and noticed that the "Leader" was missing from its place on the northern wall immediately to the right of the main entrance. On a further look remind lie. discovered the empty frame lying on the floor of the rear ante-room, the top of the window at the back open, and a dark lantern , a " jemmy" and other burglarious tools strewn about the floor. The canvas had not been cut at. all, for the light frame to which it was tacked was devoid of all vestige of canvas, showing that it had been! removed intact. Evidence as to the interval during which the burglary must have been committed is supplied in the fact that the "Leader" was in its place when the president of the society (Mr. H. S. Wardell) left the gallery at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday, so that wherever the artistic spoil may be, it cannot have travelled far yet. The missing picture (a canvas about 4ft by sft) represents an English landscape— a. view from Surrey Hills—a few tall frees in the high foreground and a vast extent of undulating countryside stretching away into the lmiy distance. It is not a work of much colour or imagination, but it is a master study in distance. The picture was brought to' New Zealand by Mr. A. A. Longden, with numerous other examples of English art for the New Zealand Exhibition,! where it- was catalogued at £600. It was purchased by Mrs. W. B. Rhodes, of this city, for a little under that sum, and was presented by her to the gallery last year. The plugging of the keyhole was evidently intended to give the burglars, or burglar, time to decamp if anyone in authority possessing a key happened to chance along when the operation of removing the canvas was in progress. The findins of +he tools would seem to indicate that the burglars Lad been disturbed, or had taken alarm, as it is considered a very unprofessional thing to leave tools behind on the completion of a " job.'