[CPProt.net] Admitted art thief's artwork part of Gallery Hop exhibit

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Admitted art thief's artwork part of Gallery Hop exhibit

By Sarah Vos

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
September 17, 2005


One of four young men who admitted to stealing rare books from the
Transylvania library will be featured as part of Lexington's downtown
Gallery Hop tonight.

The opening at Balatro, a gallery in Dudley Square, will include four works
from a series of seven that Spencer W. Reinhard painted after he, Warren C.
Lipka, Charles T. Allen II and Eric Borsuk were arrested in February.

The men took a set of pencil sketches by naturalist John James Audubon, a
first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and two rare
manuscripts from the 15th and 16th centuries from Transy's library. Four
days later, just before Christmas, they went to Christie's, an auction house
in New York City, and tried to sell the stolen books and manuscripts.

In March, the men pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, conspiracy and theft
of major artwork.

Two of Reinhard's paintings sold last month at an exhibition in Germany for
$1,500 each. Winter in NYC, one of the paintings that sold, focuses on New
York's skyscrapers.

Another on display in Lexington shows a dorm room being entered by three
figures in black and a shirtless young man on a bed, startled awake.
Reinhard was arrested in his Transylvania dorm room.

The bright colors in the paintings are emotive, and the geometric shapes
create motion - a style completely different from the careful, controlled
sketches by Audubon that Reinhard and the others stole.

Balatro's owner, Bobby Freisberg, met Reinhard less than a month ago, when
Reinhard, 20, stopped by the gallery to show Freisberg his portfolio.
Freisberg, a Transy graduate, was intrigued by the colors, he said.

Reinhard explained immediately that he had been involved in the robbery at
the college, but Freisberg decided to sign a contract to represent him
anyway. 

"People do make mistakes," Freisberg said. "They go down the wrong track."

Reinhard did not return phone calls requesting comment. Neither did his
lawyers.

Sarah Emmons, spokeswoman for Transylvania, said she was surprised to learn
about the exhibit.

"This was a serious crime against Transylvania," Emmons said. "And, more
importantly, it was a very serious crime against our librarian."

According to prosecutors, Lipka and Borsuk used a stun gun on the special
collections librarian, tied her up and placed a knit cap over her head and
eyes so she couldn't see. Allen was waiting outside in the getaway car. 

Reinhard, then a student at the college, did not participate in the robbery
but was in contact by cell phone. He and Lipka tried to sell the manuscripts
to Christie's.

The men are scheduled to be sentenced next month in federal court. Officials
have recommended sentences of 11 to 14 years for each, according to lawyers
representing Reinhard's co-defendants.

For his part, Freisberg says he will continue to sell Reinhard's work, even
if he is painting in prison.

Reach Sarah Vos at (859) 231-3309 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3309, or
svos at herald-leader.com.