A "true once-off" portrait of Bob Dylan by the Irish artist William Mulhall was stolen from a Dublin art gallery yesterday.
Thieves smashed the front window of the Apollo Gallery in the city centre in the early hours of yesterday, seizing one object only, a portrait of Dylan painted on a large ceramic plate.
The theft left gallery employees puzzled as nearby paintings by artists such as Louis Le Brocquy and Ronnie Wood worth large sums were untouched.
"When you're attracted to a piece of art, it's what speaks to you personally," said a gallery representative. "The thieves' own personal taste came to the fore here, otherwise they would have stolen a Le Brocquy," he told The Irish Times.
Mr Mulhall was obviously very upset. "An artist's main fear is that their work is damaged. They're terrified when works of art are stolen," he said.
The heavy handthrown earthenware plate is 24 inches in diameter and was specially created by a ceramicist, Tim Goodman, in a collaboration with Mr Mulhall. It is believed to be worth €1,500.
It had previously been in the back of the gallery but two months ago had been moved into the front window. The gallery is now reviewing security.
The portrait forms part of a series of Dylan called Access All Areas. The singer-songwriter invited Mr Mulhall to do a variety of paintings in celebration of his 60th birthday last year. Mr Mulhall was also on tour with Dylan and was backstage at the concert in Nolan Park in Kilkenny last year.