Art theft: no mistaking this gnome is taken
AUCKLAND: Brazen art thieves donned highvis vests and spent an hour removing a 2mtall bronze gnome from outside an Auckland art gallery.
The sculpture, named Thinker, by Gregor Kregar, retails for $55,000 and was outside Gow Langsford Gallery for barely a week before it was stolen.
Gallery director John Gow said the gnome was installed the week before Christmas and was deemed ‘‘very festive’’.
Mr Gow said three thieves arrived at the site, on the corner of Wellesley and Kitchener Sts, about midnight on Christmas Eve.
CCTV footage then shows the men bending down and using an instrument to unbolt the 80100kg statue from the concrete plinth.
‘‘I watched the artist [install] it and it was very securely fastened,’’ he said.
Mr Gow said they are then seen rocking the gnome from side to side, eventually wriggling it free.
They left about 12.45am on Christmas Day after putting the statue into a vehicle parked outside the Gallery’s Kitchener St entrance.
Mr Gow hoped the statue was sitting in someone’s backyard as it would be near worthless doing anything else with it.
‘‘In reality, the bronze is worth, maybe, $2000, whereas the sculpture itself is a $55,000 object.
‘‘I’m sure any scrap metal dealer, meeting someone turning up with something like that, will be scratching their head and asking a few questions.’’ — NZME