Police hunt three suspects after landscape valued at up to €160,000 taken from display

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Austrian police are searching for three suspects after a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir valued at up to €160,000 (£140,000) was stolen from a Vienna auction house during opening hours.

Golfe, Mer, Falaises Vertes, a lesser known landscape by the prolific French impressionist, was taken from its frame on Monday evening while it was on display ahead of a planned sale at the Dorotheum auction house, police said.

“The men left the site through different exits and fled,” Vienna police said in a statement. They released pictures of the three suspects taken from security camera footage, adding that they were “evidently professional”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The artist Renoir, who lived from 1841 to 1919. Photograph: Handout

The Dorotheum, Vienna’s best-known auction house in the heart of the city, confirmed that a theft had taken place but declined to provide further details.

The painting was estimated at €120,000 to €160,000 and had been due to go under the hammer Tuesday evening.