The art of the steal: Police investigate heist at Edmonton hospital
2 local artists hope police can recover 7 pieces stolen from Grey Nuns hospital
Edmonton artist Jeanette Spencer was excited to see a call coming in from the Grey Nuns Community Hospital on Oct. 2, figuring one of her paintings on display in the cafeteria had been sold.
But her heart dropped when the unhappy voice on the other end broke the news: two of her paintings were gone.
"As an artist, those are your babies," Spencer told CBC News in a recent interview. "It's not like someone stealing your electronics or something. Years go into that work."
The Grey Nuns Community Hospital is likely not the first place that comes to mind when you think of an art heist.
But seven works of art vanished from the Edmonton facility in early October.
The mystery deepened as Spencer waited in line to file a complaint with police. She overheard the woman in front of her reporting the theft of several of her paintings, also from the Grey Nuns.
"I just thought, 'What the heck — who does this?'" Spencer recalled, marvelling at the synchronicity. "What are the odds of being there at the same time?"
Premeditated
Barbara Mitchell noticed five of her pieces missing from the wall near the hospital's administration desk by the front door, during a routine check on Oct. 1.
"Immediately you think, 'Was I so fortunate to sell all these paintings in the last week?'"
The call from hospital came the next morning informing her of the theft.
Hospital officials declined comment but Edmonton police have confirmed they are investigating.
Both artists believe the heist was planned.
"The people who come in very brazen, they just bring a wire snipper and whether you had locks on it or not, like in the cafeteria, they just snip the wire, which shows real premeditation because they have to come in with wire snippers, bolt cutters," Mitchell said.
Some of the pieces were as big as 24 by 24 inches, and all were priced under $700. Twenty per cent of each sale goes to the hospital's charity.
"When a piece is stolen, everybody loses," Spencer said. "It's not just me that they're stealing from, they're stealing from everybody."
Artists sign waivers against loss and damage, but the women never dreamed it would actually happen.
We're not painting van Gogh here.- Barbara Mitchell
"We're not painting van Gogh here," Mitchell said. "I didn't ever think that anyone would ever go around to a sacred place like a hospital and steal art. Like, for what purpose?"
Spencer has replaced her stolen pieces while Mitchell made the difficult decision to remove her artwork in the hopes security measures will eventually be beefed up.
Through it all Spencer hasn't lost her sense of humour. She noted that the heist of the Mona Lisa in 1911 launched the Renaissance painting to worldwide fame and masterpiece status almost overnight.
The artists are asking anyone with information about the theft to contact police.
