Art Theft in Bridgehampton

Southampton Town detectives are investigating the disappearance of a dozen or more artworks from the studio of a Bridgehampton artist, Elaine Marinoff, who called police to her Ocean Road residence in early January to report the theft. She had been away in the city for a month, she told police, and returned to find the paintings gone.

The theft, she said by phone on Tuesday, appeared to be highly professional. The missing canvases had been stored in a loft. “They unstretched the stretcher bars very carefully. There was no mess,” she said. The paintings were the sole target. “Nothing else was taken.”

All the paintings had one thing in common, the artist said: They were from her earlier years, when she went under the name Elaine Marinoff-Good. “Other things can be replaced,” she said. “These are paintings I spent years on.” Now, she has only slides.

Police asked Ms. Marinoff at the time of her report not to publicize the theft, but lifted that restriction this week. Anyone with information that could be helpful to their investigation was asked to call the detectives’ office at 631-728-5000.