Whoever stole the five paintings from Country Lane Antiques in Fort Langley had to be a small person to squeeze through the narrow window they used to gain access to the business at 9179 Glover Road, owner Shirley Rempel said.
“There’s not a lot of of room,” Rempel told The Times.
The theft took place some time between Sunday night (Jan. 1) and Monday morning.
Someone smashed in a window to gain entry and fled before police could arrive.
It was the first break-in at the Fort Langley store in the six years its been operating.
What puzzles Rempel is the thief ignored other easy-to-sell items in the store and went straight to the wall where three Al Colton paintings were hanging.
The diminutive thief also stole a painting by Jack Turpin and a limited-edition Alan Wylie, one of 25 prints.
Each measured about 24 by 20 inches.
The original works of art will not be easy to dispose of, because any buyer willing to pay the proper price of about $700 per will almost certainly know they were stolen.
The Colton paintings have his distinctive West Coast style.
The Wylie is called “Let it Snow” and features a little boy all bundled up, standing at the back of a caboose.
The Turpin shows an aging shed with a moss-covered roof illuminated by the sun.
Anyone with information about this robbery is asked to call Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200 or, if you need to to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).