The owners of a Windsor antique shop have turned to the public for help after a thief stole a large painting worth hundreds of dollars.
Holland's Collectibles and Curiosity Shoppe has been at Moy Avenue and Ottawa Street for seven years. Amid walls filled with antique artwork, there’s a blank space where a large painting should be.
“It's pretty immediate,” says owner Lawrence Holland. “We're always concerned about theft."
He says he’s experienced several thefts in the past, but this one was quite unique, with such a big piece taken in broad daylight.
Surveillance video from the shop shows a man walking in and stopping to take a closer look at the painting. Then he then casually browses around.
“He had his hands behind his back the whole time, looked very respectful of the whole thing," says Holland.
Minutes later, the man left with the piece of artwork in hand. It was an antique painting by an eastern European artist from the 1960s.Holland's asking price was $550.
“(It had) three or four horses in the foreground running from a burning barn that had just jumped over a fence," he says.
Windsor police are also investigating the incident.
“This painting measures about four feet in width by two and a half feet tall, so it's a pretty large painting," says Sgt. Matthew D’Asti.
With over 10,000 items for sale, Holland says it's not the first time thieves have stolen from him.
Over the past seven years, he estimates he's lost over $50,000 worth of antiques, mostly through smaller items and after-hour break and enters.
Anyone with information is urged to call Windsor police or Crime Stoppers.
