CHELSEA — An art thief stole a painting from a Chelsea building Thursday, rolling it up before walking away with it, police said.
The acrylic by graffiti artist KAWS, which had been painted on top of a Calvin Klein advertising poster, was rolled up and pushed into a tube by the thief, who was captured by surveillance cameras.
The value of the artwork is not known.
The man snatched the painting at 6 p.m. from the second floor hallway of 40 West 23rd St. The building houses Chelsea's Home Depot, as well as marketing firm Big Fuel Communications, according to the New York Observer.
He is described as between 20 and 40-years-old, about 5-foot-11 with a thin build and a moustache.
He was wearing a dark green hooded top, blue jeans, a tan baseball hat and sunglasses. He was also carrying a dark backpack.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or send information to WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or text their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
