Stolen S.African art recovered at graveyard

Four art pieces stolen from a Pretoria museum have been recovered at a cemetery in the southern city of Port Elizabeth after a tip-off, police said on Tuesday.

The masterpieces by South Africa’s leading artists, worth nearly $1.8 million (1.4 million euros), were stolen from the Pretoria Art Museum on Sunday in a brazen heist involving three armed men.

Police said the paintings were recovered under a bench at a private cemetery behind a Dutch Reformed Church in the city.

“The art pieces were left under a bench in the small cemetery… verification of the art must still be done, but from a layman’s view it appears to be the pieces taken in Pretoria,” said a statement.

According to the museum, five pieces were stolen including works by Irma Stern and Gerard Sekoto, but police said only four were recovered.

“We are delighted that the paintings have been recovered, but unfortunately one is missing,” said museum spokesman Pieter de Necker, adding that police were following leads on the outstanding piece.

The missing artwork is the Gerard Sekoto’s 1939 “Street Scene” painting.

“Security at the museum has been improved since the theft, and we are hopeful that the remaining piece will be found,” De Necker said.

The robbers shopped through the museum, placing the stolen artwork in a trolley, and fled the scene leaving one painting behind because it did not fit in their getaway car.

Numerous South African galleries have been hit by theft in recent years, including works made out of bronze, targeted by scrap collectors.