Security cameras at Union South captured a woman stealing a $700 painting from a gallery in Union South last Wednesday.

Union South staff discovered a 9 by 12 inch painting missing from the 1308 gallery last Friday, according to a report from the University of Wisconsin Police Department. Security footage showed a woman stealing the painting at approximately 12:00 p.m., the report said.

UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott said painting was not secured to the wall in any particular way and this made it easy for the suspect to take the painting in the middle of the afternoon.

“In the video [the woman] simply reached over, grabbed [the painting], put it in her purse and walked away,” Lovicott said.

Lovicott said he is not sure why there was a two-day delay in reporting the stolen artwork, whether the staff did not notice the painting was missing or whether there was another reason.

UWPD is advertising the photo of the woman from the security footage and asking for help identifying the suspect, the report said.

Lovicott said police have already received several tips on the suspect from people who have seen the photo on social media, the UWPD website and other media sites.

While theft is the number one issue on campus, Lovicott said stolen artwork from either student union or other campus buildings is not a problem the university has encountered in recent memory.

[media-credit name=”Photo courtesy of UWPD” align=”alignnone” width=”251″][/media-credit]