Two paintings that were brazenly stolen from the library of the Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue have been returned.
On Monday, a Healing Center security guard reported that a man who asked to remain anonymous brought the paintings back.
The man said the thief had stashed the artworks at a friend’s house, where they were found and recognized. The identity of the thief is unknown.
Two of artist Carrie Beene’s abstract paintings were stolen form the walls of Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue.
Artist Carrie Beene, who’d created the stolen paintings, said she was in her Spanish class when her phone began “going off, and off, and off,” with word of the recovery.
“I was so relieved and happy that the drama was over and the paintings were not damaged,” she said.
Healing Center director Denise Herron said the police have been informed that the paintings were returned.
On May 22, a man took the canvases from their frames, rolled them up and left with the artworks. A video of the theft was captured on a security camera.
Herron reported the heist of the two paintings, valued at $2,000 each, to the New Orleans Police Department and posted the security video on social media.
The Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave., is home to a grocery store, gymnasium, nightclub, voodoo botanica, library and the Second Story art gallery.
Artist Carrie Beene said she was “so relieved and happy that the drama was over and the paintings not damaged.”
The two abstract paintings will be featured at the gallery on Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the closing reception for an exhibit titled “Souvenirs: A Journey in Time,” which includes works by Beene and Moira Crone.
