A Ucluelet artist and former gallery owner is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the return of an original Peggy Burkosky watercolour painting that was stolen from his residence.
Mark Penney told the Westerly News he arrived home late at night on Sept. 12 to find the painting missing, though the door to his Sharp Road apartment was locked.
“I notified my landlord of the theft and I requested that my locks be changed immediately because the door was locked,” Penney told the Westerly News.
“The painting was missing and the original gallery tag from the reverse of the painting was inside my locked apartment at the door.”
Penney operated the Mark Penney Art Gallery in Ucluelet from 2007 to 2020 and said the painting was framed in glass and hung on the wall inside his apartment.
“They literally took it off the wall,” he said, adding inventory from the gallery remains in his care, and other paintings were in the same room as the watercolour that was stolen.
He said the painting is particularly special to him because of his admiration of Burkosky.
“She’s an internationally known Canadian painter. She comes from a fishing family and her husband’s a commercial fisherman, so she makes authentic depictions of our West Coast culture and lifestyle,” he said.
“She was the very first artist I invited to show with Mark Penney Gallery for that reason. I love her work.”
He added that Burkovsky has worked with the Pacific Rim Arts Society and is a solid contributor to the town’s vibrant art scene.
“This is not a casual relationship to our community, she’s really contributed,” he said.
He added he notified the Ucluelet RCMP and said they have been “really diligent” in their investigation.
“I’m hopeful for the safe return of the painting,” he said.
