Colin John McCahon painting worth A$200,000 stolen in Sydney

The 1974 painting Comet (F13) by renowned New Zealand artist Colin John McCahon has been stolen from a house in Sydney. The painting is estimated to be worth A$200,000 (£117,000; $152,000).

The New South Wales Police said that the artwork was stolen on Sunday (2 July) when its owner was moving from his Balmain home on Beattie Street, in inner-western Sydney.

The painting is of a darkened night scene and is over a metre in height and 75 centimetres in width. The thief also stole a set of stereo speakers.

Police have issued an image of the painting, and have requested people to come forward with information, saying it would be treated in "the strictest of confidence".

The police said they are investigating the theft and would examine local CCTV cameras.

"Our procedures are essentially to canvass and speak to neighbours and work our way around that type of scenario," the police said.

Art consultant Stephen Nall said the theft was relatively uncommon in Australia because it was difficult to sell on the black market.

"The general rule is that you would only get about 10% of the value if you are selling a picture that is stolen," he told the BBC.

McCahon was New Zealand's most popular modernist painter, with a career spanning more than four decades. He died in 1987.

Other McCahon pieces have also been sold for a good price like the Woman with Lamp, which was sold for NZ$270,000 (£151725.85). The Gate painting went for NZ$265,000 (£148916.11) and the Now is the Hour we Must Say Goodbye was sold for NZ$117,500 (£66028.84).