— Crimestoppers —
Landscape painting stolen during Hurlbut auction

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — When Beverly and Jim Hurlbut auctioned off items from their personal collection of art and antiques recently, their intention was to downsize their belongings in order to help finance their grandchildren’s college education.

What they didn’t expect was for a thief to help himself to one of their paintings by a well-known Taos artist.

The Hurlbut auction was Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Gallup Catholic High School gym. According to Beverly Hurlbut, an early oil painting by Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956), one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists, disappeared after it came up for auction but failed to garner a bid higher than the required minimum. The painting was then placed with other “passed” items that failed to sell. In the apparent busyness of the auction, the group of passed items was not watched carefully and the Phillips painting disappeared.

Although the couple had the painting listed in their art inventory, they did not keep a photograph of it. Hurlbut said the painting was approximately 15 by 22 inches in size, it was of a peaceful, pastoral scene with cows grazing in a pasture, and it featured dark, muted colors. It was framed with a relatively ornate gold wooden frame.

“The painting needed some restoration,” said Hurlbut, who placed its value at $1,500 to $2,500 because of its condition.

Had the painting been restored, she explained, it would have been worth much more. And because of its subject matter — a New England or European pastoral scene — the painting was not nearly as valuable as Phillips’ later work during his years as a member of the Taos Art Colony.

According to a Web site dedicated to Phillips’ artwork (www.bertphillips.com), auction prices for his Southwestern paintings have ranged from a low of $80,500 to a high of $265,000. 

The couple recently filed a police report, and Hurlbut said she has alerted a number of major galleries in Arizona and New Mexico about the theft. She is also planning to list it on an online art theft registry. The Art Loss Register (www.artloss.com) is an international art registry and the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association (www.atada.org) has a registry for stolen items related to Native arts.

“We’ve talked to a lot of people who were there,” said Hurlbut of friends who attended the auction and remember the painting. She said two people have reported seeing one particular individual picking up and looking at the painting after it was passed over in the auction. Hurlbut said she is planning to talk further with Gallup Police about that information.

Gallup Crime Stoppers: (505) 722-6161