SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - Surveillance video shows a masked person ripping a painting off a wall in Somerville.

The thief is seen running around a corner, loading the stolen art into a car on a nearby street before driving away.

The thief made off with two paintings.

The artist of one of the paintings, Adam Leveille, saw the surveillance video for the first time on Friday.

“Somebody wearing a mask came in, they came in from a side entrance, not from the main entrance past the concierge,” said Leveille. “They seemed to know what they were doing. [They] had a pair of wire cutters on them, cut down my piece, somebody else’s piece, and made a b-line out the same way they came in.”

The theft took place in the early morning hours on January 7 in Union Square.

The stolen paintings were part of the “Visions of Somerville” exhibit.

Leveille says he’s devastated to see how his work was treated.

“To watch the guy, first of all, manhandle the panting, which its pretty fragile when its not on the wall, is pretty devastating,” said Leveille. “But also to see him be so calm about it and very methodical about it was really shocking, and just mind-blowing in this day and age.”

The painting took a month to complete, and Leveille says he was hoping to sell it.

“As artists, we like people to see our work,” said Leveille. “We like people to have the opportunity to buy our work, and when somebody comes along and does this, they just yank the rug out from both of those things.”

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