The FBI announcing the recovery of four of six paintings by noted American Illustrator N.C. Wyeth (WHY-eth), stolen from a private art collection in Maine two years ago.
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The case dates to May 2013 when six oil paintings by Wyeth, the patriarch of a line of painters known for their Maine seascapes, were taken from the home of a prominent real estate developer in the state.
In December 2014, the FBI’s Los Angeles division recovered four on the paintings from a pawn shop in Beverly Hills. But the remaining two were never found. The paintings are identified as “The Encounter on Freshwater Cliff” and “Go Dutton, and that Right Speedily”, shown below.
“We are anxious to have this unique and irreplaceable artwork recovered and returned to its Maine owner”, said Thomas E. Delahanty II, the United States Attorney for the District of Maine. Agents went to the Beverly Hill Pawn Shop and advised the stores owner that four of the stolen Wyeth Paintings were located on his premises and agents would be taking possession immediately.
The reward is offered to anyone who can provide information to recover the paintings. “They could be in someone’s auto”, Lisi said. The paintings were recovered after Beverly Hill Police Detective Specialist Michelle Fieler discovered them while reviewing pawn slips from a local pawnshop.
Lawrence Estrella, of Worcester, Massachusetts, pleaded responsible to interstate transportation of stolen property for transporting 4 of the six stolen paintings to California and was sentenced to greater than seven years in jail.
Police in California found his vehicle in the parking lot of a hotel in North Hollywood. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
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In a statement earlier Tuesday, Lisi described the investigation as “an active and aggressive effort, with law enforcement following leads and tracking down potential sources of information across the country”. Anyone with information should call the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324).
