More Than $1 Million in Art Stolen : Crime: Part owner of Van Nuys agency is tied up by masked robber. About 1,000 contemporary works were taken in the heist, including oil paintings, lithographs and serigraphs.

An armed man in a “ninja-style” mask tied up a part-owner of a Van Nuys art agency and distribution house, then escaped in the company’s van with artworks reportedly worth more than $1 million, police said Tuesday.

The robber, who police said might have had accomplices, took more than 1,000 artworks, including three oil paintings and hundreds of lithographs and serigraphs from Eagle Limited’s warehouse near the Van Nuys Airport.

Robert Silver, 43, one of the agency’s owners, was tied up and taped to a chair during the Monday night robbery. Later, he dialed 911 on an office phone with his toes to summon police.

Janet Klein, director of marketing for Eagle Limited, said only works by contemporary artists Ramon Lombarte, Sonya Fe and Roberto Chichorro were taken. They included three oils by Lombarte with a total retail value of $78,000.

Also taken were more than 300 lithographs by Lombarte, 300 serigraphs by Chichorro and 200 lithographs by Fe. The lithographs and serigraphs were valued at $1,000 to $2,200 each by Eagle Limited, according to Linda Worrell, president and a part-owner of the business.

“We are sure we are talking about at least 1,000 pieces,” Worrell said Tuesday afternoon.

Though police originally reported that $4.6 million worth of artworks were taken, Worrell later downgraded the estimated loss to $1.2 million to $2 million.

The three artists whose works were taken are not well-known in the fine art market, although paintings and prints by Lombarte are sold in some galleries for up to $65,000. The Merrill Chase gallery chain, based in Chicago, sells the Spanish artist’s stark, realistic paintings for prices ranging from $20,000 to $65,000, according to Lynn Marks, an art consultant with the company. She said his lithographs, unframed, go for $1,195 to $1,495.

Bob Barnes, director of the Landmark Gallery in La Jolla, said Lombarte paintings sell there for between $10,000 and $30,000. The gallery, which also carries works by popular artists such as Leroy Nieman and Erte, hosted a Lombarte exhibition last year.

Works by Fe, a Los Angeles artist who specializes in colorful paintings of children and small animals, are less well known. Paul Sorota, who owns a gallery in Boston, said he has sold a small number of her lithographs for about $600 each.

The third artist, Mozambique-born Chichorro, is just now having his works introduced to this country, according to Worrell.

Hundreds of other originals and lithographs by other artists were left behind in the robbery.

“They knew exactly what they wanted,” Worrell said. “They didn’t waste time. They went directly for the Lombarte originals. They took the most expensive pieces.”

The losses were covered by insurance, Eagle Limited officials said. The three Lombarte originals were oil on linen. The robber took them down from walls of the business, including the wall behind Silver’s desk, and removed them from their frames.

The lithographs and serigraphs were taken from storage drawers. Complete editions of 285 prints were taken from some drawers, company officials said.

Silver is an attorney in Boston and visits the business once or twice a month to oversee contracts and other paper work. While he was working in his office alone Monday about 8 p.m., the robber entered through the unlocked front door.

“He had a gun but he didn’t point it at me,” Silver said. “He had on what I call a ninja-style mask. It was black and pulled down over his face. He said only four words, ‘Don’t move,’ and then, ‘Stand up.’ I did what I was told. I didn’t want to try to be a hero while he had the gun.”