Words from the photo's above:
"Early morning of April 25, 2001 men forcibly entered the Blanco Family Museum and stole the paintings in this collection.
The paintings represent the early works of Mr. Jose V. Blanco. The oldest painting is a 1952 college plate, which represents the humble beginnings of the artist.
The early works were shown to the public to give inspiration and moral support to young and budding artist(s) that like Mr. Blanco with simple and humble beginning(,) they too could make it to the top of their chosen profession. With discipline and determination they could make a name for themselves in the art world.
We chose to leave the crime scene as a reminder of the beauty that was lost.
With your help and support we might be able to locate some of the works, but we may never be able to see the beauty of the works that was originally presented in this wall."
Probably because it happened quite some time ago, the author could not find any other articles about the tragedy that happened to this museum and to this family. The author would let the pictures he has taken, and the museums words to speak for it. All that was left of the stolen paintings is indeed, the wall where they used to hang.
It appears the paintings were never recovered.
Ironically, the authors visit to the Blanco Family Museum at Angono, Rizal was last August 13, 2008. The National Artist died August 14, 2008 at around 1 a.m. According to Michael Blanco, one of the artist's sons, he died from a cardiac arrest as a complication arising from his medical condition when fluid entered his lungs.
Above is a photo of a plaque bearing a memory of the artist of a duhat tree and also of his father.
Below is a view of Angono, Rizal on the day of the author's visit. Idyllic and peaceful, it is not hard to see why an artist would choose to say here and weave his talent with a paint brush. And very hard to see how a crime of this magnitude, the stolen paintings, could have happened here.
