San Diego

Burglars early Wednesday morning stole from the Point Loma Nazarene College library a Norman Rockwell painting that college officials said was valued at $80,000, San Diego police reported.

The untitled painting, which appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1931, depicted student activity at Stanford University, where Rockwell met his wife, according to Sharon Strann, college publicity director.

The painting was stolen between 2 and 6 a.m. A sliding window was forced open on a second-floor balcony of Ryan Library, according to police spokesman Bill Robinson. Two layers of glass encasing the 2-by-3-foot painting also were broken.

Videocassette recorders and other equipment were stolen from the campus’ physical education building about the same time Wednesday. Robinson said it is not definite that the two incidents are related. However, police are comparing fingerprints from the two sites.

The painting was a gift to the school in 1974. Campus officials declined to give the donor’s name.

“All I can say is that it was a very special gift and it was encased in a very special spot,” Strann said. “The library has not really had this type of problem before. We realize the value of it, but we just can’t comment on anything.”

The San Diego Crime Stoppers Program is offering a $1,000 reward for any information about the thefts.