ART HEIST Measuring 12 inches by 18 inches, “Mango Harvesters,” a painting by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo from 1936, has been reported stolen from the Hofileña Museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental. Security cameras showed the painting being taken by two visitors around 10 a.m. on July 3. —images from the Leon Gallery website/Carla P. Gomez
BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — A 12×18-inch painting by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo was reported stolen from a popular private museum, the Hofileña Museum, in Silay City.
The museum’s CCTV records showed that the painting, called “Mango Harvesters,” was taken by at least two thieves from the museum’s second floor where it was on display along with other paintings and sketches.
The stolen painting is different from, but thematically similar to, Amorsolo’s “Mango Gatherers,” which was sold by Leon Gallery in Makati City at a 2018 auction for P46.72 million.
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“I don’t care about the prices of the paintings,” said Rene Hofileña, the museum’s administrator and brother of deceased art collector Ramon Hofileña, who converted their ancestral home into a museum in 1962.
“I just want to keep my promise to my brother to keep the museum going so the public can continue to enjoy his art collection,” he said. “This is the first time an art piece has been stolen from a museum in Silay City.”
Hofileña said their security video recordings showed that the painting was stolen by a middle-aged woman and her male companion, possibly in cahoots with three other people, about 10 a.m. on July 3.
The suspects joined a tour of the museum. When it ended, the suspects were allowed to return to the second floor since the guide thought they were just going to take pictures and he had another batch of tourists coming in.
Video footage from the CCTV camera showed that the male companion of the middle-aged woman took the Amorsolo off the wall and put it in her bag, Hofileña said.
Another couple and their child were also in the room when the robbery took place.
“They saw the man take the painting down and put it in the bag of the woman but did not say anything or let us know what happened,” Hofileña said.
All five, he added, were wearing face masks.
“It all happened within seconds. The woman with the painting in her bag hurriedly walked out of the museum and down the road,” Hofileña said.
“The woman appeared to be distinguished looking. They seemed to be professionals,” he added.
Hofileña said the thieves must have been observing the museum operations for some time because they knew exactly what to get and when there was only one tour guide at work.
Hofileña said he was touched by the concern and offers of help from many people, especially from the art world, both locally and nationally, upon learning of the theft.
SAME THEME Photo shows Fernando Amorsolo’s 1931 painting “Mango Gatherers” that was sold in 2018 for P46.72 million. An Amorsolo piece of the same theme, from 1936, went missing on July 3. —Leon Gallery website
Important art piece
Solomon Locsin, Negros Occidental Historical Council chair, asked the public to help recover “this important piece of Philippine art.”
He pointed out that the art piece was valuable because it was one of the early mature works of Amorsolo who painted it in 1936, shortly after he returned from art studies overseas and was starting to gain fame.
Amorsolo was the first National Artist of the Philippines, declared four days after his death in 1972.
“[The robbers] obviously only came here for the Amorsolo,” Hofileña said.
It was on display with works by other notable Filipino painters, like Juan Luna, Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo, Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok, H.R. Ocampo, and Benedicto Cabrera, all part of his brother’s collection.
The museum itself was built in the 1930s, shortly before Amorsolo painted the stolen artwork, and housed the Hofileña family.
Ramon Hofileña, who died in 2021, converted the art deco house into a private museum to display his collection of around 1,000 art works.
He was a man with a passion for the arts, culture and history—an expert in his domain, former Silay Mayor Mark Golez said.
“He was involved in a lifelong campaign to restore and protect our Negrense cultural heritage and promote the arts,” he added.
The house was declared a heritage house on April 6, 1993, by the National Historical Institute.
Heritage and art groups have begun to stage a social media campaign to find the stolen Amorsolo, Locsin said.
Those who may have any information on the missing painting are urged to call the Silay police at 09985987443 or 09989674432, he said.