Eleven Paintings Stolen from Katie O’Neill’s Fine Art Studio

The Local Artist Continues to Look for the Missing Work, With Help From LAPD, Community

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

More than a week after her studio was broken into and paintings were stolen, Katie O’Neill—with help from the Los Angeles Police Department and community—continues to search for her missing work.

Eleven paintings valued at $35,000 were stolen from Katie O’Neill’s Fine Art studio on Antioch Street around 10:15 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 8, she told the Palisadian-Post.

O’Neill was notified at 12:30 a.m. early Sunday morning by a friend who was driving by and saw LAPD officers at the studio.

“I am devastated,” O’Neill wrote and shared in a post following the incident, adding that no supplies appear to be missing—just her paintings.

Among the missing works are scenes from beaches and cities, as well as a piece highlighting a view in Yosemite. O’Neill has shared photos of all of the missing work on her website, in hopes that someone spots them, either being sold somewhere or discarded, and can help return them.

After wrapping up giving the police a report at 2 a.m. that Sunday, O’Neill had to scramble to find someone to come to the Palisades to board up her window so she could keep the rest of her work safe. She described it as a “sad, scary hour.”

“I do not have theft insurance,” O’Neill wrote. “To get theft insurance, you have to put in a security system and pay for the insurance. I am a one-woman operation. Any security system comes straight out of my income.”

Working with a “very helpful” LAPD detective, O’Neill said they described the crime as “highly unusual,” that it “looks like a professional job” and that she was targeted.

“I never thought my paintings would be a target for theft,” she wrote. “Whoever has them would have to resell them. As much as I love my paintings, I know I’m not internationally famous with a black market waiting to snatch them up … but I do have a job that I love. In a community that has been so supportive and helped my business survive during a pandemic and crazy commercial rental market.”

O’Neill worked with LAPD to speak with other businesses in the area to obtain footage from cameras. She shared that the only description they have of the suspect is that it appeared to be a tall, slim, younger male, with a bucket hat and gloves.

In an update on Monday, October 17, O’Neill said the detective has been “working so hard on every possible lead” but there was “nothing so far.”

“At least I feel like the LAPD has been doing everything they can,” O’Neill shared. “The community support has been incredible … now I have to get back to painting to fill all the empty spots on my wall—even while I continue to search for my lost work.”

For those interested in supporting O’Neill, a GoFundMe has been created by a community member to raise funds. As the Post went to print, nearly $10,000 had been raised.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to my little life of quietly teaching and painting,” O’Neill concluded.

To donate to the GoFundMe, visit gofund.me/0cf2e97b. For more information and additional images of the missing artwork, visit oneillsfineart.com/collections/182561.