‘I can’t figure it out’: More than $50k worth of art stolen from Upper Kirby gallery, owner says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The owner of an Upper Kirby art gallery is still in shock days after learning thieves broke into her space and stole several pieces worth more than $50,000.

Cathy Albright has owned the Dean Day Gallery for 42 years and said nothing like what she experienced this weekend has ever happened before.

She said she was contacted Christmas morning after a jogger noticed her glass front door in the 2600 block of Colquitt near Richmond and Kirby was shattered.

Albright believes the break-in happened on Christmas Eve.

“I didn’t really determine the extent until the property management came, and all the glass was cleaned up, and I could walk around,” Albright recalled. “At first, I just thought it was the front two paintings that were stolen, but then I determined it was four paintings and two sculptures.”

They were not all on the same display. The prices were only next to some of the pieces. They were not the largest pieces in her gallery. There is no rhyme or reason why the thieves chose what they did, except that they were all visible through the front windows.

Albright questioned whether the thieves had cased her business before, although she said there had not been too many customers in the weeks leading up to the break-in.

“I’m just questioning,” Albright said. “I just can’t figure it out. That’s the baffling thing. I just can’t figure it out.”

She contacted Houston police and hopes nearby surveillance video will help them catch the suspects.

“There’s not quick money with art of mid-level artists,” Albright explained. “It just doesn’t make sense where they’re going to sell them or unload them. I can’t imagine.”

She shared photos of the artwork stolen, hoping that if the thieves try to make a quick buck, someone will take notice that it was stolen.