Theft of painting Third-generation artist Roy Tabora's grandfather used to say that artists are creators, so their joy should come from creating.
is a heartbreaker
for the artist
Roy Tabora's "masterpiece to date"
is stolen from his Haleiwa gallery,
but he is still hopefulBy Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.comThose words echo in Tabora's mind as he deals with the loss of his "masterpiece to date" -- an $85,000 original stolen from his Haleiwa gallery -- and the fact that it may never be passed on to his daughters.
Since the burglary Aug. 15 of the Tabora Gallery at 66-145 Kamehameha Hwy., police have been searching for the suspect or suspects who threw a brick through the gallery window and made off with four paintings, valued at nearly $95,000.
Three other paintings, by landscape artist Gary Reed, also were stolen. All were framed in koa.
An alarm alerted police and Tabora to the 11 p.m. incident.
"We got there just a few minutes after it happened. ... The alarm was still going on," Tabora said.
No one was around and the police arrived shortly after.
Detective Letha DeCaires, CrimeStoppers coordinator for the Honolulu Police Department, said the incident happened very quickly. It is a first-degree theft because it involves more than $20,000, she said.
She said art theft in Hawaii "is not a very common occurrence" but that "there probably is a market for everything."
DeCaires said in the past, police have recovered stolen art from pawnshops, who are being encouraged to keep an eye out for the paintings.
The four paintings ranged in size from 8 inches by 18 inches to 30 inches by 40 inches. Their retail values, including the frames, ranged from $750 for Reed's limited edition "Mauna O Ke Kai" to $85,000 for Tabora's "Through Days of Grey."
Tabora, whose seascapes are sold in galleries from Hawaii to New York, said he is also getting the word out. He has contacted galleries and is posting pictures of the stolen paintings in several art magazines and on his Web site at www.tabora.com.
He said insurance will cover about two-thirds of the paintings' retail value. Still, he would rather have his painting back. It was special to him because of its emotional strength, he said, noting a woman once broke down in tears after seeing it in a show.
His main gallery is at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Since gaining success after a humble start in 1982, Tabora has had more than six of his pieces stolen from galleries and exhibits in Hawaii -- and has only recovered one.
"I know that the odds are against it," he said.
But like his oil-on-canvas painting that depicts sunlight bursting through gray skies, he said he is still hopeful.
"These days are my days of gray now, so I'm hoping for a little bit of sunshine here," he said. "The fitting end to this is that I do get it back."
Tabora said he is offering a $1,000 reward in addition to the cash reward of up to $1,000 offered by CrimeStoppers.
Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.