JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Murray Hill woman is pleading for the return of a large, one-of-a-kind portrait of her grandmother that was stolen after it was delivered to her front door.
The nearly 80-year-old oil painting of Florence Acker was passed down to her granddaughter, Jenny Acker, who had made plans to display it next to her grandfather’s portrait.
“Painted in the late ’40s. It’s in pristine condition. Nothing has ever happened to it. It’s gone down the family and made it’s way to me, and then it’s not here," Jenny Acker told News4Jax
Jenny Acker said the portrait of her grandmother was shipped from California to Jacksonville, and after FedEx delivered the painting to her front doorsteps, it was stolen. Acker said she believes the thief may have thought it was a flat-screen TV inside a large, narrow box.
“I can see someone taking it because it was worth something. But it’s not really worth anything to anyone besides me and my family," Jenny Acker said.
The portrait was created in Japan, where Jenny Acker’s grandmother and grandfather, Albert Acker, were living after World War II. Albert Acker was stationed there while serving in the U.S. Army. The artist who painted the portrait of Florence Acker even wrote her name at the bottom of the painting. Jenny Acker already had a portrait of her grandfather, which was painted by the same artist, and had planned to display her grandmother’s portrait next to her grandfather’s portrait. But now that it has been taken, she’s left heartbroken.
“It’s also very surreal. Like, whoa, this actually happened -- something so sentimental," Jenny Acker said.
That’s why she’s pleading for the person who took the painting to return it.
“Whoever took it, please bring it back. Even if you don’t remember where my house is, where I live, if you don’t live in the area, please drop it off at the police station -- no questions asked," she said.
Jenny Acker said that if the person who took the painting returns it to her home or drops it off at Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office headquarters, she will not press charges.