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Police hunt for stolen paintings worth £12k

Devon and Cornwall Police handout A painting of people walking in ones or twos around Penlee Park, with an expanse of water to the right, with some low storey buildings in view. The sky is full of clouds. In the foreground there is a woman with a bright green jacket and dark hair, walking with another woman in a black dress and white jacket.Devon and Cornwall Police handout
Paintings the police want to find include Sunday Walkers, Hayle

Police are appealing for information after the theft of two high-value paintings from a house in Penzance.

The paintings by west Cornwall artist Gill Watkiss were taken from an "empty but secure" home in Morrab Road between 1 February and 13 February, according to Devon and Cornwall Police.

The oil paintings, titled Sunday Walkers, Hayle, and Autumn Days, Penlee Park, were worth £6,000 each, the force said.

Both canvases are sized about 70cm by 50cm (27 ins by 19ins).

Devon and Cornwall Police handout People are dressed for colder weather and are walking amongst trees and on the grass. One man who is wearing blue jeans has a small white dog on a lead.Devon and Cornwall Police handout
Autumn Days, Penlee Park by Gill Watkiss has gone missing from Penzance

Watkiss lived on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula for many years.

Her official website said the weather was "an ever-constant pervading presence" in her work.

She died in 2024, aged 85.

Anybody with any information about the paintings should call police on 101.

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