Houston Police Seek Missing Renoir Painting

HOUSTON (AP) -- A $25,000 reward has been offered and Houston police have made a public appeal for help in finding a painting by Jean Renoir reported taken from a west Houston home.

Renoir's "Madeleine Leaning On Her Elbow With Flowers In Her Hair" is part of a private collection at the Vaughn Christopher Art Gallery in Houston.

According to a police statement Wednesday, officers were called to a west Houston home Sept. 8, where a person reported that an armed white man wearing a ski mask and gloves entered and demanded money and jewelry.

Police say the complainant pointed out the painting on the wall and its value, so the gunman took the painting and its frame and left. The complainant wasn't injured.

Police did not reveal the painting's value.

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