The Gentleman Thief

A suave yet elusive criminal, Henry Harrington, navigates the glittering world of 1960s New York high society while orchestrating a string of meticulously planned heists. Once a respected antiques dealer, Harrington turns to crime after a devastating financial scandal threatens to destroy his life. With a sharp mind, an eye for priceless artifacts, and a taste for the dramatic, he quickly becomes the city’s most wanted man, earning the nickname “The Gentleman Thief.”

As Harrington evades capture, Detective Harold Klein—a grizzled veteran of the NYPD—is hot on his trail. Klein, obsessed with the thief’s seemingly flawless methods, uncovers a deeper connection between Harrington’s targets: each stolen artifact holds the key to unraveling a much larger mystery.

Photoshop, Paper, Cutting Mat, Glue, Pens, Ink, Caligraphy Pen, Binding Clips, Additional Props

This fictitious storyline and character are completely fabricated, but the images/props I created are based on reference images of real detective and police work I found on the web. The criminal images are created from a photo reference of my boyfriend's dad I had. Although I believe it was a military ID, I thought he fit the bill of a high-end criminal who could have lived in New York City's art world. I loved being able to use a real-life image I had, and I'm lucky that he got a kick out of me making him into a criminal.

Once I had references that I was happy with, and knew what elements I wanted to pull from, I started working on the digital files in Photoshop. Using some elements of the actual references, and re-creating layouts and type aspects that I liked from a variety of media. I had fun playing with different saturations, noise levels and filters to create an authentic-looking 1960s document.

Once I had gone as far as the computer could take me, I started printing, cutting, gluing, stamping, penning, and manhandling!
I was so excited to use my hands and make these pieces look realistic and like people had actually interacted with them! There were a few aspects I wish I could have gone the extra mile with, like using a real typewriter or crafting a real rubber stamp, but I decided to use Photoshop to make the type and stamp look as real as I could. I loved being able to use tangible materials to put the finishing touches on these pieces.

I then collected everything I had (with a few trips to the art store and an antique shop) that I thought would be present in a 1960's NYPD office at around 10PM, and set the scene! I did a few shots in the daylight, but kept everything set up and later that night took some shots with a lovely soft light I have and liked how those turned out much better.

This is the first of many projects like this!