Des Moines man flattered about his art being stolen from Sioux Falls gallery

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A Sioux Falls art gallery says someone stole a piece of artwork worth $500.

Rug and Relic owner Tove Bormes says a two-part painting called "Bubble Boy" by Des Moines, Iowa, artist Chris Vance went missing when she and her husband, Steve, were rearranging the gallery.

She says whoever took the paintings replaced the two 12-by-12-inch canvases with two other gallery paintings, so there wasn't an empty space on the wall.

Bormes says she has posted messages on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter that include pictures of the stolen works, hoping to get some leads. She says she and her husband have had the gallery for five years and have never before had a theft.

Vance says it's not good that someone stole his work, but in a way he finds it flattering.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.