Good Samaritan helps return stolen painting to local artist

Happily reunited with her stolen artwork, it was a proud homecoming for a Calgary artist Saturday.

Natalie Kurzuk chose a southwest Calgary art show to proudly unveil one of two paintings stolen from her two years ago while in transit to a gallery in Saskatoon — recovered and returned thanks to the kindness of a benevolent stranger.

“I had let go of my paintings,” Kurzuk said, explaining she had long abandoned any hope that her work would be recovered when she got word over the summer that one of her stolen paintings, entitled Camouflaged, had been found.

Kurzuk’s two paintings were stolen in September 2014 after being shipped to Saskatoon ahead of an upcoming art show. Information from the courier confirmed the two paintings had been successfully delivered before they went missing.

Nearly two years later, an unidentified woman spotted what appeared to be an original painting being offered for sale on a Saskatoon street corner. Herself an artist, the woman researched the painting online and came across media coverage of the piece’s 2014 theft.

The woman told Kurzuk that she immediately purchased the stolen painting and made arrangements for it to be returned to Calgary. She refused to disclose to Kurzuk what she paid for the painting.

Despite efforts by the Good Samaritan to locate Kurzuk’s second painting, it has yet to be recovered.

The returned painting was unveiled by Kurzuk Saturday at the Imagine Art Show, held at the Church of the Nazarene on Richard Way Southwest.