by David C. Barnett
Cleveland painter Frank Oriti was thrilled when his portrait of a tattooed acquaintance was accepted to be part of a prestigious London art exhibition.
But, Oriti was surprised in a very different way when he learned that his artwork was the target of an attempted theft, earlier this week. The painting features a young man with the word "Clarity" tattooed on one side of his shaved head. The artist says it's part of a series he's done on body art: "For as many people as I know that just go out and get a tattoo, there are also those who go out and get tattoos and seek out different artists. It's almost like they are collecting art."
The London Evening Standard reports that masked men tried to pilfer the portrait in front of shocked visitors, Sunday afternoon.
A police spokesperson says four people were arrested in connection with the incident. The paper is calling it a "hoax heist", possibly staged to protest BP's sponsorship of the National Portrait Gallery exhibition.
