[CPProt.net] At a Pioneer Square studio, a puzzling theft draws concern.

[Museum Security and Cultural Property Protection (Ton Cremers)]

Have You Seen This Painting?
At a Pioneer Square studio, a puzzling theft draws concern.
By Lynn Jacobson

Photo: http://seattleweekly.com/arts/0601/art-theft.php

A baffling art heist in Pioneer Square has left some artists wary about
opening their doors to the public on First Thursdays. Eight paintings by
Susan A. Lockwood were reportedly stolen from her studio at 619 Western Ave.
late Christmas Day or early the day after, along with other works of art,
tools, and music equipment from adjoining workspaces.

Although the building had been broken into before, Lockwood and her fellow
artists were surprised by the theft of so much art. When she was notified of
the break-in by police, Lockwood said, "I thought, 'I don't have anything to
worry about. What would [a thief] do with my paintings?'" Though each canvas
was priced between $350 and $1,000, Lockwood acknowledges that she doesn't
have a big enough name to command high figures on the black market.
Paintings like hers can't be pawned, and at nearly 3 feet square, they're
too large to be easily hidden or transported.

Seattle Police Department spokesperson Rich Pruitt said this kind of art
theft is pretty rare. Apparently, once the thief or thieves gained entry to
the building, they took their time prying open and breaking down studio
doors. They were choosy about what they took, rifling through stacks of
canvases, taking favorites, and leaving others. They nabbed a single piece
from Lockwood's studio mate, Marcia Riwney-the biggest and most valuable she
had. They also paused long enough to drink a bottle of wine they found in
Riwney's refrigerator. "They only liked white," Lockwood said. "We had a
whole case of reds, and they didn't touch those."

The missing paintings represent months of effort by Lockwood and Riwney, and
both artists say they are deeply discouraged. "When you're working on
something a long time-anything, whether it's a quilt or some other
project-once it's gone there's a real sense of loss," Riwney said. "We don't
feel comfortable. The thought of being open again on First Thursday-we're
going to be really suspicious." Said Lockwood: "I like that First Thursday
makes art and artists accessible to people, but this makes me feel
differently about it." Both artists plan to keep their studios closed this
Thursday, Jan. 5.

Not every Pioneer Square studio and gallery is as vulnerable as those at 619
Western. Tina Bueche, a longtime neighborhood business owner and activist,
said 619 is "a great building, but problematic. They're a multistory
building with multiple units, and no one at the front door. The door is open
during the day, and people are free to walk in." Because so many tenants
come and go, "there are lots of keys, tons of keys," in circulation.

SPD's Pruitt said that once people gain entry to a building like 619, "they
can go upstairs, and there are lots of places to hide" until tenants leave.
Also, landlords that offer affordable rent to artists aren't usually in the
habit of installing high-tech security devices-cameras and electronic alarm
systems-like those at established galleries.

The owner of one gallery, James Harris, on Third Avenue South, said he
doesn't have any major concerns about security in regard to First Thursdays.
He noted that anybody can come in and case any gallery any day of the week.
"Any business open to the public, you take that risk," he said. He called
the thefts at 619 Western "a tragic sort of flattery: It's terrible they got
stolen, but someone must've really loved those paintings."

That's small comfort to Lockwood, who is now kicking herself for not getting
around to insuring her work. "It was on my list of things to investigate in
the new year," she said. In the meantime, she's getting over the incident
the best way she knows how-by returning to her studio, and painting.

ljacobson at seattleweekly.com