Thieves steal $200K of artwork from Naples storage unit

NAPLES, Fla. – A sculptor says thieves broke into his storage unit in Naples just days before Christmas and his trailer with 45 sculptures and tools inside.

“I would have never guessed that this would happen,” Ben Foster said.

Foster says the whole process of making these statues takes up to seven months to complete. He creates the masterpieces at his home in Wyoming, and then sells them in Southwest Florida at art shows during the tourist season.

“Being here only three months long, we have art shows that the only marketable time is January through March.”

Foster has been sculpting for 23 years. He says it’s a family business that he was mentored into.

“I get an idea in my mind and I form, I sculpt it all out of clay, and I use various tools to sculpt it,” Foster explained. The clay sculpture is then made into a mold, then a brass casting is placed.

Sadly, he now only has six left.

Forty-five sculptures, worth more than $200,000, were in a closed trailer at a storage unit in Naples. He says the thief stole them sometime between December 12th-22nd. Foster says it couldn’t have been easy for just anyone to take.

“The trailer was extremely heavy,” he explained. “600lbs a piece to all the way down to maybe 30lbs for some smaller sized bronzes.”

His first big art show of the tourist season is the first weekend of January. He says at this point he is up against time.

“This is how our family makes a living,” Foster said. “What we really would like to have is our artwork back, even without the trailer.”