More than 30 copper plates created by George Hawken, a lecturer and printmaker in the University of Toronto’s Department of Fine Arts, were reported stolen from university storage space late last week.

The mystery deepened Friday when campus police received an anonymous tip around 7.00 am. Three hours later, they arrived at a designated drop site to find four large pieces, one of which had been badly damaged.

For Hawken, it is a bittersweet victory.

“I’m so relieved to have them back but still shaken by the vulnerability and the loss of what may be gone forever,” he said.

Sam D’Angelo, campus police operations manager, told The Varsity that the investigation is ongoing. Although police have a description of a person of interest, they have yet to determine if and how the person is connected to the case.

“It’s a good lead, but the more time passes, the less likely it will be that we recover all of the stolen objects,” said D’Angelo.

The artworks had been stored in a second-floor space at 1 Spadina Crescent.  The unidentified suspect got past the heavy steel door of Hawken’s storage room and walked away with a chunk of his work.

“After I had finished a meeting, I noticed the door to the storage room was slightly ajar. I thought that was pretty unusual, and when I went to go check it out, my artwork was gone,” said Hawken.

Hawken immediately contacted Toronto police and campus police, who began working on the case.

Copper theft on campus is uncommon, said D’Angelo. Last summer two individuals were arrested for stealing copper downspouts at various U of T buildings.

More rare still, says D’Angelo, is the theft of valuable art on campus. “Valuable art is kept in high secured places, guarded by security cameras and other precautionary measures. Copper thefts that occur off of campus grounds are usually a lot more easily accessible,” he said.

Hawken says he was fairly certain he locked the door before he last left, but says there is a possibility that he may not have. Hawken says the copper value of his artwork was only about $500 in total, but the pieces had great sentimental value. Made about twenty years ago, the small plates were an outlet for Hawken to play with imagery in a light-hearted way.

“I feel very wounded by this, because the plates were special to me in a lot of ways,” Hawken says.

The Department of Fine Art at U of T has expressed sympathy for Hawken’s predicament. Elizabeth Legge, chair at the department, said that Hawken is invaluable to the department as both an artist and teacher.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Lynne Wynick, whose gallery once represented Hawken, said that it was “quite difficult to place a value on the plates, which are almost invaluable.”

“The copper is definitely worth a lot, but the value is more in the fact that they’re a work of art,” Wynick told the Star.

The person responsible for the theft could face criminal charges of theft under $5,000. This, D’Angelo said, could result in a sentence ranging from probation to jail time, according to the verdict of the judge. If the culprit is a student, he or she could also face charges under the non-academic code of conduct.

Hawken feels that the odds are not in his favour when it comes to apprehending the suspect. He says he thinks the person who did it knew what they were looking for.

“I figure the person responsible will remain anonymous, and that definitely bugs me,” said Hawken.

In light of this incident, campus police recommend that anything of sentimental value be kept in a secure area and locked with a deadbolt. D’Angelo also adds that if it is extremely valuable, it should not be kept in the university.

Hawken agrees. “Until I was stolen from, I thought the storage room was a safe place to store my artwork. It’s up to me to put my artwork in a secure place, and I’ll be looking into more intensive storage units to do so.”