One of the almost-stolen paintings. Ellen Harvey "Brass Penknife with Female Nude" (2012). Image courtesy Art in America.

Over the weekend, someone walked into Kristen Dodge's gallery on Rivington and stole a number of paintings from the show mounted there, Ellen Harvey's "The Nudist Museum Gift Shop." The paintings were attached to a shelf with velcro, and Ms. Dodge heard the sound of the velcro ripping, ran downstairs and saw that four works were missing.

It could have ended there, but Ms. Dodge--who sounds like a real champion, by the way--chased the thief down, wearing heels that she eventually kicked off. She found the thief in a lumber yard and, as she told Art in America:

"I started yelling and cursing. I was really dressed up that day, but barefoot. The guys in there thought I was crazy. But I explained what was going on, that the guy was a thief, and told them to call the police."

Lumber yard employees found the stack of paintings stashed behind some wood. Ms. Dodge snatched them and ran back to the gallery.

They lost the thief in the end, but the work was retrieved. Congratulations, Ms. Dodge! You might consider a second career in law enforcement.