The kind of brazen derring-do one might associate with the subjects of N.C. Wyeth’s paintings began playing out in real life two years ago, and now the FBI is seeking the public’s help to conclude a major art theft case.
According to an FBI press release, the agency is offering a $20,000 reward for information that helps locate two stolen N.C. Wyeth paintings: “The Encounter on Freshwater Cliff” and “Go Dutton, and That Right Speedily.”
The agency’s involvement began in June 2013 when the Portland, Me., Police Department requested its assistance after six N.C. Wyeth paintings were stolen from a businessman’s apartment there.
N.C. Wyeth was the patriarch of a Chadds Ford art dynasty that included his son, Andrew Wyeth, and grandson, Jamie Wyeth. The public can view many of his works at the Brandywine River Museum of Art; in addition, the museum conducts tours of the studios of N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth, both of which were also used by Jamie Wyeth.
In November 2014, after a lengthy investigation and a tip that the paintings might have crossed the country, the FBI in Portland requested assistance from the FBI in Los Angeles, the release said.
In December, the FBI’s Los Angeles Division recovered four of the paintings at a pawnshop in Beverly Hills. Three individuals, Lawrence Estrella, 65, of Worcester, Ma.; Oscar Leroy Roberts, 37, of North Hollywood, Ca.; and Dean Coroniti, 55, also of North Hollywood, have been charged in connection with the case.
Estrella pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property in February and was sentenced in federal court to 92 months in prison. According to court records, Estrella transported four of the six stolen paintings to California in an effort to sell them. Law enforcement officers in California located his vehicle in the parking lot of a North Hollywood hotel. Estrella’s room at the hotel was searched and a firearm was located, but no paintings were found, the release said.
Roberts, who used the stolen paintings to secure a loan from the Beverly Hills pawnshop, also pleaded guilty in February and subsequently received a sentence of 28 months in federal prison. Coroniti pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property in March and is scheduled to be sentenced in October, the release said.
The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and agents believe the remaining paintings are somewhere in New England.
“The investigation into the theft has been an active and aggressive effort, with law enforcement following leads and tracking down potential sources of information across the country,” Vincent B. Lisi, who heads the FBI’s Boston Division, said in the release. “I’m optimistic that one day soon the paintings will be returned to their rightful owner and we’ll bring those responsible to justice.”
Anyone who can provide information leading to the recovery of the remaining two N.C. Wyeth paintings should call the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324). Tips may also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
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