:On May 27, Frances Eastburn reported to the Sheffield police that a painting was missing from her home, along with two boxes containing antique china.
The painting was given to her grandmother, Adelaide "Ada" Johnstone, by the well-known Pennsylvania artist Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839–1924), when Johnstone met Knight in Puerto Rico around 1885.
Eastburn described the oil on canvas as approximately 11 by 9 inches, of an "exciting beach scene in Puerto Rico." It shows the Caribbean waters with white-capped waves and a fiery red light over a lovely beach. "Everyone who has seen it over the years comments on how exciting and beautiful it is," Eastburn said, "and it has deep sentimental value to me, as it was always in a place of honor in my grandmother's and then my mother's house."
The painting was in an original, ornate, Victorian frame with traces of gold leaf.
Also missing is a box with a 31-piece miniature Lowestoft china tea set and another box containing some 20 pieces of hand painted, French porcelain that Eastburn's father purchased at auction many years ago, possibly in the 1950s.
Eastburn is offering a reward for the return of the painting.
Anyone with information should contact Susan Rathburn of the Sheffield Police, 10 South Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257, 413-229-8522 or 413-229-8523.
