Owner of stolen art, antiques says he is 'devastated' by theft

Rising premiums kept him from buying insurance for his art several years ago.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A 75-year-old man whose valuable art collection was stolen from his home earlier this month says he was "devastated" by the theft and will never move back to the house.
Harry Lownsbury was recuperating in a nursing home Dec. 2 when he learned that his prized collection of art, antiques and other objects, valued at more than $1 million, had been stolen from his home in the Germantown section of the city.
"It was a lifetime of work, devotion and love taken away," Lownsbury said.
Lownsbury had accumulated the art over the last few decades with his longtime companion, Joe Dougherty, who has lived in a nursing home for more than two years after suffering a massive stroke.
The collection included works by Pennsylvania artists John Folinsbee, Daniel Knight Ridgeway and George Luks, and the painting "Woodside Park" by Fred Wagner, a student of Thomas Eakins.
Police have also said hundreds of Royal Doulton figurines, family jewelry and some gold coins also were reported stolen.
Valuable nest egg
Lownsbury said rising premiums kept him from buying insurance for his art several years ago.
He said he and Dougherty intended to ultimately sell some of their collection.
"We were just collectors," he said. "It represented a nest egg for retirement years. I figured that if things got rough, I could sell a few. I figured I was worth something, and now it's below zilch."
Police last week identified 25 paintings that were stolen from the house. Authorities believe the suspects knew what they were looking for and ransacked the home "as an attempt to cover the tracks," said Police Lt. Eugene Cummings of the Major Crimes Unit.
"We're hoping that maybe somebody feels they're going to give someone a nice present for Christmas," Cummings said. "And then when they see it, maybe the bells and whistles will go off."