A pair of Damien Hirst butterfly prints was stolen from the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo(MAC) in Santiago, Chile, earlier this month, with one of the works being returned anonymously via courier the next day and the other turning up in a plastic bag in a courtyard at theUniversidad Alberto Hurtado. The prints, “Souls III” and “Souls IV,” are valued at over $17,000 each and were on view as part of an exhibition of works belonging to collector Juan Yarur, the Santiago Times reports.

Photo via Museo de Arte Contemporáneo/Facebook

The prints were stolen during a concert at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which shares a building with the MAC. The thieves passed through the museum cafeteria, which isn’t equipped with security cameras.

“The only images we have are dark and unclear,” MAC director Francisco Brugnoli told the Times.

The security guard who discovered the second print was originally detained by police and questioned as a potential suspect.

“The 40-year-old Cerro Navia resident was detained for some hours yesterday afternoon for the crime of taking and keeping the piece instead of communicating his finding at the time to a superior,” Valería García, a sub-commissioner of the Investigative Brigade of Crimes Against the Environment and Cultural Heritage, said.

The guard is now collaborating in the ongoing investigation, and both prints have been returned to the MAC. The exhibition drawn from Yarur’s collection, “A Personal Account,” runs through September 29 and features works by Tracey Emin, Alfredo Jaar, Paz Errázuriz, and more.

 

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