Hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen art has apparently been recovered after the suspect in the case pleaded guilty earlier this year.
According to Ted Knudtson, the artist and owner of one of the pieces swiped in a 2018 art heist at the Gerry Thomas Gallery, much of the material has been recovered.
In that theft, more than 60 pieces of art were taken with a value of more than $500,000.
After three years, Calgary police apprehended Shawn Graham Briscoe in connection with the case. Briscoe pleaded guilty in July.
At the time, LiveWire Calgary had reported that none of the art had been recovered. Knudtson was hopeful more information would come forward with news a suspect had been charged.
Since then, according to Knudtson, a moving van carrying “boxes of stolen art” were returned by Briscoe prior to the sentencing hearing. The Calgary police are apparently cataloguing the returned items.
The Calgary Police confirmed they have recovered the stolen art. They had been working with the convicted Briscoe to have the items returned, said Corwin Odland, Calgary Police Service spokesperson.
“We’re still working with the gallery owner to fully inventory it know what we have and what still might be outstanding,” said Odland. Other items such as electronic equipment taken in the theft haven’t been recovered, he said.
Odland said the rarity of the items and the difficulty in unloading items like that likely contributed to their retrieval three years after the fact.
Share it with Calgarians
Knudtson said that his sculpture, The Courage to Fall, was one of the returned items.
“I am overjoyed,” Knudtson said.
“The piece has suffered some minor damage along the way, but nothing that can’t be fixed. Having the Courage to Fall back means the world to me.”
Knudtson said he’d like to donate his piece to a place that will give it a permanent home. He’d like to see it displayed publicly.
“It is a small part of Calgary’s history now, and I hope to share it with Calgarians. That, to me, would be the happiest of endings,” Knudtson said.
