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Artist Set Back By Theft Of German Antique Easel |
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It's awfully sad for an artist to arrive home after a vacation and find that someone has stolen his easel. But it's even worse when it was an irreplaceable antique valued at several thousand dollars, says artist Kenneth Hari, who is faced with the task of nailing his canvases to the wall until he can find a suitable replacement. "I just don't understand it," Hari said yesterday as he surveyed the empty spot in Mary W. Holley's garage at Gloucester Square, where his easel used to be. Hari, who has been commissioned to paint portraits of 20 country music stars for the Grand Ole Opry House, said he left the antique German easel in his patron's garage when he left for a trip to Florida a few weeks ago. Mrs. Holley, in the meantime, went to Texas to visit relatives. The curious thing about the apparent theft is that the easel was the only thing taken from the premises. Metro Police officer Garry Moss said, "He told us the easel was one of only one or two of its kind in the world. He said it was very valuable, and he was pretty upset about it." Moss said police could find no point of entry to the house, however. "We did not see how they broke in," he said. "It was strange that nothing was missing besides the easel, when there were thousands of dollars worth of stuff left in the house." Hari said he received the easel as a present from Mrs. Max Westfield, widow of the German artist. He values the easel at between $5,000 and $7,000 although Mrs. Westfield said her husband paid only $200 to have it custom made in Germany in the 1920's. Hari said the easel was one of the largest he has ever seen. It was equipped with a crank and a giant swivel mechanism, plus drawers and a place to store a palette and brushes. "It would only be of use to another artist," Mrs. Westfield said. "Maybe it will turn up somewhere." Meanwhile, Hari said he will have to manage by nailing his canvases to the wall while he is working. He has completed nearly all the Opry pictures, which WSM commissioned for winners of the George D. Hay Award. Hari said he has painted numerous celebrities and entertainers, including Artur Rubinstein and the Baroness von Trapp. |
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