The adage: “Never judge a book by its cover,” is something that I always try to keep in mind when walking the streets of Cape Town, especially when it comes to those who are less fortunate, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Lynn Cupido.
My hyper-awareness can possibly be attributed to an old Oprah interview with Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn in an episode in which she regaled the audience with tales of her time as a “homeless” woman on the streets of New York City. I have never looked at a homeless person the same since.
The point is… you just never know if the “bergie” sitting on the corner of Buitengracht Street you’ve just given the side-eye to is an Oscar-winner, or in this case, an art-lover with some seriously expensive taste.
According to IOL, the latter may be walking the streets of Cape Town as he, or she, thoughtfully gazes at a portrait inspired by impressionist Claude Monet. On the other hand, the painting may now be nothing but ash, an expensive piece of artwork used to keep the fire going on those cold Mother City nights.
Willem Pretorius, the devastated artist in question, states that the painting is worth R100 000 and was one of three paintings he had entered in the bi-annual Portrait Awards. Titled “Ophelia,” it shows one of his friends swimming in a pool at their Rosendal home in the Free State.
Of the incident, Pretorious says:
“The painting was covered by a piece of canvas and they broke one of the windows of my VW Kombi’s back windows. All the seats had been taken out because I also had a Vespa in the back, which was also covered, and a laptop, both of which weren’t taken. I had walked twice around the car to check if anyone would be able to spot what is in the car.
“Someone must have thought there is a strange car in the neighbourhood and broke in to see if there was something of value under the piece of canvas. We had no choice but to park in the street and my friend we stayed at had warned that we would have to cover things up to prevent anything from being stolen.”
Pretorious states that he hadn’t reported the theft to the police because he “wasn’t convinced that it would make a difference.”
Unfortunately for the artist, the art-loving thief still appears to be at large.
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Picture: Unsplash