Louisiana artist’s painting stolen from Arabi art space

A painting by Louisiana-based artist Sabrina Schmidt was stolen from an art space in Arabi, a small suburban area outside New Orleans, authorities said.

Detectives were notified Wednesday that a burglary had occurred sometime within the previous week at The Ford Plant, a historic car assembly facility now in the process of redevelopment as a creative hub, the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Investigators said that the painting “Dueling Oak New Orleans City Park” valued at $7,500 was stolen from the building, and that multiple areas within it were defaced with graffiti that they believe “may be connected to the theft.”

The work, painted onto a standard-size door, took Schmidt more than a year to complete, authorities said. Investigators are asking the public for help in locating the missing painting.

Schmidt told New Orleans broadcaster WVUE-TV that another artist working in the facility had noticed the painting was missing on Sunday.

She said Thursday that she learned the work was stolen Wednesday and immediately contacted police in St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans.

“I feel like this is not really happening and someone is playing a joke,” she said. “This is a piece of me. Yesterday, I was walking along the river, and I felt like I was looking for a missing person.”

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