[MSN] The owners of a new art gallery in Henderson were hoping to celebrate their grand opening later this week, but those plans are on hold after burglars made off with nearly fifty paintings.

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Original paintings stolen from new Henderson art gallery

Aug 8, 2007 03:36 PM 

 
The owners of a new art gallery in Henderson were hoping to celebrate their
grand opening later this week, but those plans are on hold after burglars
made off with nearly fifty paintings.  News 3's Steve Crupi has an inside
look at what happened. 

Instead of beautiful, colorful artwork, The Aldo Alan Gallery in Seven Hills
has nothing left but bare walls and debris on the floor. Burglars made off
with several original oil paintings, and the loss is distressing not just
for the gallery owners but for the artists they represent. 

"For them it's like losing a child. It is so sad that one of my artists
actually cried," said gallery Co-Owner Aldo Aguirre.

One of the big questions now is what the thieves plan on doing with the
stolen art. But the owners of the gallery think it will be hard to sell the
paintings on the open market. 

"This is very unique artwork; they can't sell these items on eBay - they
will stick out like a sore thumb," said Aguirre.

The thieves got into the gallery through the backdoor. Aguirre says the
thieves got lucky because the sophisticated alarm system with cameras and
motion detectors had not been hooked up yet, due to ongoing construction
work. 

Fortunately, the bandits did not break into the large wooden crate that
contained additional paintings, which are now safely locked up at another
location. 

According to the Metro Police Department, Clark County's burglary rate is on
the rise, and, with increasing frequency, thieves have been targeting homes
and businesses that are under construction.

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