By Tim Binnall
In what sounds like a heist from a Hollywood film, thieves in Colorado have stolen a 200-year-old painting of George Washington that authorities have dubbed a "national treasure." According to a local media report, the curious case came to light in late January when the family that owns the historic portrait discovered that it had been pilfered from a storage unit in the Denver suburb of Englewood. Measuring 24 inches by 30 inches with a gold-colored frame, the artwork is said to have been painted in the early 1800s and, as such, authorities say that its value is "hard to estimate due to its historical significance."
Why, exactly, a presumably very expensive and incredibly rare piece of artwork was being kept in a suburban Denver storage unit is uncertain, though its owners say that it has been in their possession for 50 years. "It's a family heirloom," the Englewood Police Department's Crystal Essman said, "and they just want it back." To that end, the department is working in tandem with the FBI to hopefully track down the piece and the thieves before it vanishes into the art world's murky black market. Should their efforts prove successful, one hopes that the painting will ultimately wind up in a place where it can be appreciated by the public at large, rather than being tucked away in a storage unit where no one can ever see it.