By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-31 20:45:49 | Updated at 2026-08-01 16:55:33
20 hours ago
An art gallery is facing public backlash after disposing of pieces donated by local artists to a local thrift store.
Norberto Rodriguez de la Vega, of British Columbia, Canada, was shocked when he discovered that of his pieces was on sale for $11 at second hand chain Value Village.
He had previously donated his artwork to the Penticton Art Gallery, which touts itself as a vibrant community offering 'art for everyone.'
'That doesn't even cover the cost of materials,' Rodriguez de la Vega told CBC. 'This is wrong.'
A photo of one of Rodriguez de la Vega's paintings showed two creatures, one tan and one yellow, facing opposite ways on top of a red and blueish background.
The Penticton Art Gallery claimed that the decision to leave the donated artwork at the value store was made after finding 'hundreds' of unaccounted–for pieces.
'By that, I mean they did not have any documentation with them and they were not stored in a way that meets museum standards,' Leslie Whatmough, the gallery's board president, told the outlet.
Another piece listed for sale at $13.99 depicted a vase of flowers in light pastel colors.
A piece by British Columbia artist Norberto Rodriguez de la Vega was on sale for $11 at thrift store Value Village, even though he had donated his work to the Penticton Art Gallery
The Penticton Art Gallery said it had found 'hundreds' of pieces that had not been stored in a way that met their standards. It was unclear exactly how many ended up at the value store
The pieces were gifts to be sold at fundraising events, including an annual auction with money directed towards the gallery's community education and outreach programs, according to CBC.
A former curator for the art gallery, Paul Crawford, said that he was alerted to the pieces when he suddenly started receiving emails asking about the artwork now being sold.
'Immediately, I recognized them all from the gallery,' he told the outlet.
Crawford is currently involved in a lawsuit in which he alleged he was wrongfully dismissed from the gallery.
When he finally made his way to the value store, Crawford found the donated pieces for prices as low as $9.99.
Crawford added that he took the chance to help other shoppers learn about and then buy the pieces.
'I basically filled up people's shopping carts with art,' he said.
'Anybody with just a cursory knowledge — who would take the time to look at these works — would surely know these are worth more than nothing,' he added.
Another discarded piece, which showed a vase of flowers in light pastel colors, was available for $13.99 at Value Vllage
Crawford said that his issue was not with the art gallery's disposal of the work, but 'how they went about it.'
Some of the other discarded pieces not made by local artists were also from well known figures around Canada.
Some of the pieces included paintings from Helen May Duke, Sophie Atkinson and William Alexander.
Crawford noted that Alexander was 'the guy that taught Bob Ross everything he knows and handed the brush over to him.'
'These are not artists that did not have some significant role in the art history or the cultural history of our country,' he told CBC. 'These are notable people.'
Whatmough, the board president, claimed the gallery had been put into a difficult situation because they did not know who had received tax receipts for their donations.
'You can't give the art back to the person who has donated the art if you have given them a tax receipt because that is considered tax fraud,' Whatmough said.
On Tuesday, the art gallery posted that, in exchange for every work of art it discarded, it had also kept 'at least one other' piece for future fundraising
On Tuesday, the art gallery said that it had been unable to respond to the criticism earlier 'due to a cyber attack' on their website.
The gallery acknowledged that it should have 'communicated ... in advance, before this became a topic on social media, about the process we’re using to review the items that have been donated and the reality that not every item can be kept.'
‘For every piece that we had to let go, at least one other has been kept for future fundraising, and there are many more still to be reviewed,’ the statement read.
The gallery said that it had donated the art to 'a location that would ensure the pieces received maximum exposure.'
‘It is our hope that those who see value in the works that were donated will take them into their own homes,’ the statement said.
Going forward, the gallery said it would ‘commit to exploring other avenues when making those choices.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Penticton Art Gallery for further comment.
