Man brazenly walks out of art gallery with $20,000 Dali painting under his arm

Thief swipes limited edition etching from exhibition in just 32 seconds

A man has brazenly walked out of an art gallery with a $20,000 Salvador Dali painting tucked under his arm.

The thief managed to steal the framed artwork, titled “Surrealistic Bullfight: Burning Giraffe”, from under the noses of staff at Dennis Rae Fine Art gallery in San Francisco on Sunday.

It took the suspect just 32 seconds to swipe the etching, valued at $20,000 (£15,700), from an easel at the front of the shop, ABC7 News reports.

CCTV cameras on a neighbouring building captured a man in a blue T-shirt and cap strolling out of the open gallery with what appears to be a large painting under his arm.

He continues walking down Geary Street towards Union Square.

It is not clear whether the man operated alone, or whether a woman pictured outside the gallery may have been an accomplice.

The artwork was being displayed as the showcase item in a Salvador Dali exhibition, gallery director Angela Kellett told ABC7.

The etching is normally secured to the easel by a lock and cable, but they too have disappeared.

Ms Kellett said the thief ran off with the valuable piece “too quick for anyone to do anything about it”.

The artwork is a 20-inch by 26-inch piece created by Spanish surrealist painter Dali between 1966 and 1967.

Ms Kellett said the item is one of a number of limited edition etchings, and therefore could not be sold online through a site such as eBay because “people would know”.

According to San Francisco Police Department, the theft took place at some point between 4.40pm and 5.45pm on Sunday.