A thief has stolen a statue worth £40,000 from a London art gallery by tucking it under his newspaper.
The Elisabeth Frink statue, Horizontal Birdman 1, was taken from the Beaux Arts gallery in Mayfair.
The 1962 piece is inscribed on the underside with Frink 10/10.
The theft happened at the central London gallery at about 5.30pm on 26 June but details of the crime have only just been released.
Police believe the man deliberately targeted the artwork, which was on display with its price tag as part of a wider Frink exhibition.
Gallery co-owner Patricia Singh said the suspect had been walking around the gallery before the theft.
"He was walking around with a rolled-up newspaper and it was on a high shelf, so we rather assumed it was safe, and there was someone in the room the whole time," she said.
"It's to my intense chagrin, we should be more vigilant, but you learn."
"It's very hard to sell a stolen piece because it's been registered and the auction houses are legally bound to check before they put it online."
Police said the suspect is a white man, about 6ft tall with medium-length hair that was greying on the sides.
He was wearing glasses, a light blue shirt and dark suit and was carrying a black sports bag.