The San Francisco call., 1910-03-15
SL[NDfREST CLEW
ON WHICH TO WORK
Description of Man Suspected OF
Having Cdt Millet Picture
From Frame

Description of the man wanted by
the police as the person suspected of the
theft of the $4,000 painting, "shepherd
and Flock by Jean Francois Millet.
from the Golden Gate park museum art
gallery Sunday morning; About 40
years of age, feet 10 inches tall, dark
cOmpIexiOned. dark hair; believed TO
have been smooth shaven; wore light
coIored shirt of mixed goods, well worn
suit of faded dark green color and dark
Fedora hat.
Only an empty gilt frame in the
office of Curator George Barron is left
the city as a reminder of the $4,000
painting of Jean Francois Millet which
was stolen Sunday morning from the
art gallery at the Golden Gate park
museum Detective Ed Wren worked
on the case yesterday, but got little
further than the frame.
And every person in the vicinity of
San Francisco who owns a celebrated
painting is filled with alarm over the
theft and the proverbial uneasiness of
the head that wears the crown was
dreamless slumber compared to the
unrest and apprehension of the heads
that own masterpieces of art.
The robbery at the park museum,
following closely on the heels of the
theft from the California state board
of trade rooms of the Solano county
midwinter fair trophy, has suggested to
the police that the two crimes might
have been the work of one gang
The loot is, however, quite different
for the golden cup taken from the ferry
building could be reduced to valuable
metal and easily disposed Of while to
try to sell a stolen painting involves a
difficulty which increases in direct ratio
to the value of the masterpiece.
ONE POSSIBLE MARKET
There is one worlds market for
paintings where no questions are asked.
and that is the court of the sultan of
Morocco, but that is long way from
Golden Gate park. The sultan has an
Unsuitable craving for works of art and
has his agents securing Europe for rare
paintings which he may acquire.
The Millet picture was stolen by some
one who had a ready market for the
work or by a man with a mania to
possess rare paintings or with a view
to ransom
The police and the museum author
tiles have no definite clews to lead
them to the perpetrator of the crime
They learned yesterday several facts
which will be helpful to them.
THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
At 9:4O o'clock Sunday morning a
man about 40 years of age, feet 10
inches tall, with a round face, dark
complexioned, dark hair, and believed
to have been smooth shaven, who was
wearing a light colored shirt of mixed
goods, a well worn, faded green suit
and a dark Fedora hat, applied at the
park museum for admittance. Mrs.
Annie Hook, Janitress at the museum,
told him that the place would not be
open until 10 o'clock. The man went
away.
At 10 minutes after 10 o'clock Mrs.
Annie Hughes, another janitress, saw
the same man in the art gallery, lean
ing over the low rail and apparently
studying very closely one of the
Thomas Hill paintings. There was no
one else in the art gallery and few
other people in the museum building.
which had then been opened sbut 10
minutes. There were three soldiers in
the armory room, but they are not now
thought to have been connected with
the theft Of the painting.
CUT FROM THE FRAME
About or 10 minutes later Police
man George w. Clark. in making his
rounds. saw that the picture had been
cut from its frame. An indistinct foot
print on the floor inside the railing
showed that the man had stepped over
the guard so that his vandalism might
be easier.
At that same time Alex Lawson. a
special police guard at the museum,
saw a man corresponding to the de-
scription leaving the museum. He had
bundles of newspapers in each pocket
and passed out hurriedly.
That is the last seen of that man by
any of the museum attaches.
The park commissioners held an in
formal meeting yesterday afternoon
and discussed the theft, but took no
decided action looking toward it's re-
covery. The commissioners expressed
their confidence in Curator George
Barron and their satisfaction that he