A thief, possibly with a penchant for puppies, stole artwork from the Robert McClintock Studio and Gallery Saturday afternoon, according to the gallery owner Robert McClintock.
The 58-year-old Charles Village artist said four 18-by-24-inch canvas paintings, including portraits of a yellow lab, a chocolate lab, a rottweiler and a scenic painting of Fells Point, were all snatched from a window display, along with miniature prints, together worth nearly $1,500.
McClintock, known for his Baltimore-centric artwork and canine paintings, said he was managing the Fells Point gallery alone, and while working in his studio room, he saw someone enter and quickly exit the store on a monitor.
"That happens a lot," he said. "People come in. They're in the wrong store or whatever."
McClintock said he didn't think it was strange until he saw the person enter and leave again. Later, he realized four paintings, each worth nearly $300, and prints had been stolen. McClintock called the police, who responded to the call around 3 p.m., police reports show.
Sadly, McClintock wasn't able to give the police a description of the perpetrator.
"They zipped in and zipped out. It was quite a little heist," said McClintock. But he's happy he didn't see the thief in person, he said, or he might have been compelled to chase them down.
"Just the way things are these days, who knows how it would have turned out? " he said. "I'm not going to risk my life or safety."
McClintock, who has been running the gallery in Baltimore for around 15 years (11 in the Fells Point area), said he's still shocked that someone stole from him, despite his dog paintings being "good and worthy" of the taking.
"You get knuckleheads in here and … you're aware of people coming and going, but I've never had people steal art from me," he said. "I thought I was immune from it because it's not like jewelry. It's not something easy to steal and sell."
Asked for comment about the prevalence of thefts in the area, police said Wednesday evening that they were conducting additional research and would respond Thursday.
*This story will be updated.