Punk band rescue $250,000 stolen painting

Members of punk band Stereo Fire Empire found and returned a $250,000 (£160,000) painting hours after it was stolen. A masterpiece by celebrated artist George Rodrigue was swiped from the Rodrigue Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday (06Jan15), and the bandmates later discovered it propped against a wall after finishing up a gig at a nearby venue.
Bassist Elliot Newkirk says, “Our guitar player was actually talking about how he saw on Facebook that a painting was stolen. Literally five minutes later he found the canvas and his jaw dropped… We’re walking down the street with these quarter-million-dollar paintings in our hands, and they’re facing out and I’m like, ‘No! Turn that around! We don’t want people seeing that’.”
Guitarist Evan Diez adds, “I collect discarded art and things like that. Even if it’s just a frame, I’ll pick it up. I saw those canvases and had to check them out.”
Singer John Kennedy continues, “His face was ghost white – jaw dropped, like, ‘You don’t understand – this is a $250,000 piece of artwork.'”
George Rodrigue’s son Jacques voiced his gratitude to the musicians at a press conference on Wednesday (07Jan15) saying, “We’re so thankful to the good Samaritans for bringing it back.”