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EPHRAIM — Police are working to track down over 26 paintings that were stolen from a local artist’s home in Ephraim.
Larry Nielson said he has been painting and selling his artwork for the past 18 years. Known for his unique Native American and cowboy-themed artwork on weathered wood, Nielson refers to his painting style as capturing the “spirit of the wood.” Nielson said he was preparing to have several of his paintings professionally photographed for his website when he discovered many of them were missing on May 30.
“I never thought I’d have anything this enormous happen to me,” he said. “You’re living peacefully one day and suddenly 26 of your paintings are gone. My world is turned upside down. Some of these were my very high-end pieces. It probably totaled $48,000 of art.”
Nielson lives in a large Victorian home in Ephraim and he believes that the majority of the paintings were stolen at night while he was sleeping. However, Nielson said he thinks several others may have been taken over a period of time and he just thought he had misplaced them.
“It was a shock,” he said. “There are a lot of really valuable antiques and family heirlooms and rather expensive things, but they didn’t take anything except the paintings. They knew what they were after and they went after these paintings. They were the cream of the crop.”
Nielson reported the thefts to the Ephraim Police Department on June 1, but Chief Ron Rasmussen said it has been hard to track down the artwork because the paintings do not have serial numbers.
“They aren’t able to list them on NCIC (National Crime Information Center) because there is no distinct number to each individual photograph or art piece,” Rasmussen said. “It’s just difficult when they don’t have any serial numbers or documentation. It limits us to be able to list it on NCIC because they have to be able to track it. We just have rules we have to live within. But we are working on getting the report to the FBI so they can put it on their art website.”
Nielson said his experience should be a warning to all other artists or people with valuables that don’t have serial numbers.
“It’s such an invasion of my private life,” he said. “A lot of people have said, ‘Since we heard your story, we are locking our doors.’ My signature should be my identity. (But), for some reason the serial number is the magic number. I think other artists should be aware of this, even people that have jewelry and wedding rings. If a wedding ring is stolen, it doesn’t have a serial number. There’s no limitation to what these people can do.”
Rasmussen said there was no sign of forced entry in the house and there are currently no leads. He said people should remember to lock their doors and secure their valuables.
“Keep them secured,” he said. “Keep them locked up. Be aware of your inventory. As we know, locks keep the honest people honest. If they leave the doors open, it’s just inviting trouble.”
Anyone with information about the thefts can contact Ephraim police at 435-283-4602.
