Art Thief Swipes Fernand Leger Painting at Carlyle Hotel

The Carlyle Hotel at 35 East 76th St. was the site of an art theft on Tuesday

www.thecarlyle.com

By Amy Zimmer

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — An art thief made off with a painting worth a reported $350,000 from the Upper East Side's posh Carlyle Hotel early Tuesday morning.

The Fernand Leger painting, which went missing from the lobby hallway, was on loan from the Helly Nahmad Gallery located inside the hotel's swanky Madison Avenue building.

"The Carlyle's security personnel reported the painting missing at 3:30 a.m. to the 19th Precinct as well as the gallery owner," a hotel spokeswoman said. "A complete investigation is now in process."

A video surveillance shows a man walking into the swanky building then coming out a short time later with a bag not visible in the first clip, the New York Post said.

The 1917 ink-on-linen by Leger — a French artist who was part of the Cubism movement — was apparently only 10-inches-by-8-inches.

The Madison Avenue landmark, a favorite for presidents and prime ministers, boasts of itself as "a showcase great art, a purveyor of privacy and a sanctuary of luxury and refined taste," on its website.