Artwork Stolen From LA Gallery Recovered After 25 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — Detectives have recovered one of four high-value paintings stolen from a Los Angeles gallery 25 years ago, authorities announced Thursday.

The artwork "Canal" by Robert Spencer, painted sometime between 1879 and 1931, was taken in January 1995, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. The name of the gallery was not immediately available. Police had been looking for the artwork, releasing information and images of the stolen paintings.

This past November, the LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division got a tip that the painting was consigned and on exhibit at a museum in Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania. Detectives then identified the unnamed person who was in possession of the painting and contacted Pennsylvania law enforcement for help.

The detectives and Pennsylvania agents met with the person and determined they did not know the painting was stolen, and the person voluntarily released it, according to the LAPD.

However, there still are no leads regarding the other three missing paintings, authorities said.

Artist Robert Spencer was born in 1879 in Nebraska and captured American life, including locals along the Delaware Canal, which is depicted in the painting "Canal." The oil-on-canvas painting is 25 by 30 inches and was signed by the artist on the lower left corner.

Spencer's work is featured in private collections, along with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the James A. Michener Art Museum.

Anyone with information on the other missing artwork was asked to call the LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division at 213-486-6940.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

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