AMHERST — University of Massachusetts Police and the Fine Arts Center are seeking the public’s help in locating two cameras, a camera bag and a personal notebook belonging to late photographer Jill Freedman, stolen from a campus museum in mid-March.
The theft from the Augusta Savage Gallery, located in the New Africa House, likely took place sometime between March 15 and March 16, when it was reported to police at 1:47 p.m. Also stolen during the incident were items belonging to the gallery and its staff.
Most prominent among the items taken are what were on loan from Freedman’s family, including her black Nikon 35mm SLR camera, black Olympus 35mm SLR camera, camera bag and personal notebook, as part of the exhibit “Theater of the Streets: Social Landscapes Through the Lens of Jill Freedman.”
“It’s not worth a lot of money but it is our family’s heirloom,” said Nancy Schiffman-Skar, spokeswoman for the family. The notebook contains Freedman’s thoughts and is priceless and irreplaceable. The family, Schiffman-Skar said, would like to see the items returned to the Augusta Savage Gallery and will ask no questions or press any charges.
Anyone with information about the incident should contact UMass Police Officer David Ortiz at 413-545-2121 or dortiz@admin.umass.edu. Anonymous information can be left at 413-577-TIPS (8477) or by using the department’s anonymous witness form at https://www.umass.edu/umpd/anonymous-witness-form.