Thieves nab Salvador Dali sculptures in Stockholm
January 30, 2020
Police on Thursday said that about a dozen pieces by the surrealist artist Salvador Dali were among the items stole in an overnight raid on a Stockholm art gallery.
The works were stolen in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to Swedish police, with the alarm raised at about 4 a.m. local time.
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Swedish media reported that between 10 and 12 table-sized bronze sculptures made by Dali were among the stolen works.
The Dali pieces were believed to be worth between 200,000 and 500,000 kronor (€18,800 to €47,000 euros; $47,000 to $52,000). They measure up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) in height.
The sculptures, which included several of the artist's famous melting watches on a tree, had been on display at the Couleur gallery in the center of Stockholm.
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"It's terrible, I'm devastated," gallery owner Peder Enstrom told Swedish television SVT. "I've worked so hard to organize this exhibition."
Police said there were at least two thieves who got into the gallery by smashing the entrance window.
"The scene has been cordoned off so that forensics can carry out an examination," the Stockholm police said in a statement.
The pieces were on show at the gallery as part of a 10-day exhibition that was due to end on Saturday.
rc/ng (dpa, AFP, Reuters)