Police sketches of suspects who stole a pricey etching from a Michigan Avenue gallery aren’t exactly Rembrandts, but authorities are hoping they may help lead them to one.
Authorities have released computer-generated drawings of a man and woman suspected of stealing a nearly 370-year-old Rembrandt etching from a Magnificent Mile art gallery May 20. Police valued the artwork at $55,000.
The lifelike sketches were made with the assistance of Hilligoss Galleries employees who saw the man and woman enter the gallery and noticed the etching was missing moments after they left. The etching, titled “Adam and Eve,” was hanging in a preview room on the gallery’s first floor, just steps away from a receptionist’s desk.
Police say they have no new leads in the case but are hoping someone might recognize the faces in the sketches.
“It would be so great to know art helped us catch these bad guys who stole art,” said Tom Hilligoss, owner of the gallery at 520 N. Michigan Ave.
The man was described as about 55 to 60 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 195 pounds, with gray hair and dark-rimmed glasses. He wore a dark navy golf jacket and gray dress pants and carried a gray baseball cap. The woman was said to be 40 to 45 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 125 pounds, with short blond hair. She wore a tan trench coat.
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The couple had apparently been in the gallery several times before, police said. On the day of the heist, both gallery employees were busy with other customers when the couple walked in. Hilligoss said Monday he suspects those other customers might have been in on the scam.
There was only one security camera in the gallery, trained on an elevator on the street-level entrance to the store. Hilligoss said he is working on improving security at the gallery.
The etching, which measures 6 by 9 inches but was in a 16-inch-by-14-inch frame, was made in 1638. It was the oldest piece in the gallery and was on consignment from an estate. It was insured but not for its asking price, Hilligoss said.
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