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NEW ORLEANS, Dec 27, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Thieves in New Orleans dismantled and stole thousands of dollars' worth of sculptures by artist John T. Scott, apparently for the metal more than the art.
The Times Picayune newspaper reported that the thieves were apparently after the bronze Scott worked with and they'll likely sell it for hundreds of dollars.
Ron Bechet, an artist who shares Scott's studio, told the newspaper he discovered the theft Tuesday morning.
"All I could do was scream," he told The Times Picayune. "I was so angry I could feel the blood in my head. I had to sit down for a while."
Scott, who received a $315,000 MacArthur fellowship in 1992, is considered one of New Orleans' most successful artists. His work has regularly appeared in galleries, and the New Orleans Museum of Art had a retrospective of his career.
Since then, his studio was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Scott underwent two lung transplant surgeries in Houston, where he is receiving rehabilitation.
"John's in the hospital, this place is a wreck and now people are trying to take stuff," Bechet said. "I'm not sure how good this will be for his morale."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
