Seven paintings by the late American avant-garde artist Peter Busa were stolen from his son’s Cape Cod home while he was hospitalized for a head injury, police said.

Christopher Busa,publisher of arts and literature magazine Provincetown Arts, was atCape Cod Hospital overnight after hitting his head in a bicycleaccident Saturday. He reported the paintings stolen at 1 p.m. Sunday,according to police.

The theft, described by police as an "ongoing civil dispute,” is under investigation.

Documents from Peter Busa’s autobiography were pilfered along with the paintings.

Police offered no description of the stolen works or estimated value. Busa’s Black Magic oil on canvas sold for $13,200 at Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers in Connecticut on Oct. 23, 2008.

Busa, who died in 1985, studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the ArtStudents League in a class that included Jackson Pollock. He alsostudied with Hans Hofmann.

Busa, who was influenced by his friendships with Stuart Davis and Arshile Gorky,developed an interest in universal themes and primitive culture likemany Abstract Expressionists. He grew especially fascinated with NativeAmerican art and culture and emerged as a leading member of the Indian Space Painters who were active in the 1940s and 1950s.

His work is on display at the Smithsonian, the Guggenheim, the Walker Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the ChryslerMuseum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.