[CPProt.net] Study for larger Delacroix work stolen from art gallery

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Drawing stolen from art gallery 
Study for larger Delacroix work appraised at $45,000
By MARY LOUISE SCHUMACHER
mschumacher at journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 22, 2005

The drawing was about the size of a book, sitting on an easel near the
gallery door - and then it was gone.
 
The sepia drawing called "Entry of the Crusaders Into Constantinople," made
by Eugène Delacroix probably around 1840 as a study for a larger painting
that now hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, was taken from the DeLind
Gallery of Fine Art on Thursday afternoon, gallery owner Bill DeLind said.

DeLind said he often leaves artwork in plain view, trusting his clientele
and keeping careful watch over the gallery, at 756 N. Milwaukee St. He also
had the Delacroix piece out to photograph it, he said.

"We don't like to hide our art," DeLind said.

DeLind said he had stepped out to change clothes, leaving one person working
in the gallery, just prior to the theft.

The artwork had been appraised at $45,000 and is owned by a private
collector from out of the area, who gave it to the gallery on a consignment
basis.

DeLind had the piece for about a week, he said.

DeLind did not want to reveal the collector's name, but said the piece had
been in the family for decades.

The ink drawing on tan paper is a complicated composition, with soldiers on
horses that are twisting toward and away from each other.

Police are investigating the matter, DeLind said.