Purdue News

December 13, 2002 Purdue police investigate theft of 4 student art works WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University police today (Friday, 12/13) are investigating the theft of $800 worth of student artwork. Ron Fosnaugh, captain of Purdue police special services, said a graduate teaching assistant noticed at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (12/11) that two pieces of art were missing from a cabinet in Room 202-2 of Creative Arts Building 2. On Thursday, (12/11) a second student discovered that two of his works were missing from the same cabinet. The thefts were reported to police this morning. All four are 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall. Missing are two self-portraits, each valued at $150: a pencil-and-pastel rendering of a woman on gray paper and a charcoal drawing of a man. The other two missing works are still lifes of metallic objects: a $200 pencil drawing of an abstract metal bust and the corner of a bowl reflected in a mirror and a $300 pencil drawing of a chrome coffee pot reflected in a broken mirror. The latter won a "Westwood Award," named for the residence of the university's president, and was to be displayed there in January. An "Accepted into the Westwood Show" tag was taped to the back of the artwork with blue masking tape, Fosnaugh said. Fosnaugh said investigators are continuing to work with the student artists to identify possible suspects and recover the art. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the Purdue Police Department at (765) 494-8221. Writer: Grant Flora, (765) 494-2073, gflora@purdue.edu Source: Ron Fosnaugh, (765) 494-8221, rjfosnaugh@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page