Rare signed Picasso print stolen from gallery turns up in vacant apartment years later
A signed Pablo Picasso etching stolen from a Wisconsin art gallery nearly a decade ago has been recovered after a Milwaukee landlord turned the artwork in to police, authorities said.
The original 1949 Picasso etching, titled "Torero," was brought into Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) District Four on Aug. 5, after the person who found it suspected it had been stolen, the MPD said.
An authenticator confirmed the next day that it was the same print reported stolen from a Milwaukee art gallery in the 700 block of North Jefferson Street on Feb. 16, 2018, police said.
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"The Milwaukee Police Department is grateful that this community member recognized the etching print and did the right thing and returned it," the MPD said.
Milwaukee landlord Tim Dertz found the rare print by the renowned Spanish sculptor and painter while cleaning out a Bay View apartment after an eviction, WISN-TV reported.
Picasso died in 1973 at age 91.
"It was kind of in a weird spot hanging on a wall," Dertz told the news station. He said the artwork appeared to have been there for a long time because it had collected "tons of dust" across the top.
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Dertz showed the print to an antique dealer friend, who recognized it as a Picasso and said he believed it could be the artwork stolen from Bill DeLind’s Milwaukee gallery years earlier, The Associated Press reported.
Dertz then turned the print over to police, who contacted DeLind to examine it.
DeLind told the AP he immediately recognized the stolen "Torero," which is one of 30 known copies signed by Picasso. His DeLind Fine Art Appraisals sticker was still attached to the back of the framed artwork.
"I was overwhelmed," DeLind said. "It was indeed mine. It came back full circle."
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The print was appraised at between $35,000 and $50,000 when it was stolen, DeLind told the AP. He said its value may now be closer to $50,000 given the story behind its recovery.
The artwork remains in Milwaukee police custody while the client who commissioned it for sale through DeLind’s gallery works through insurance matters, according to the AP.
Milwaukee police told WISN the statute of limitations for theft and property crimes is generally six years, though the investigation remains open.
DeLind said his former business partner, who died in February, was devastated by the 2018 theft and called police every year on the anniversary of the crime to urge renewed publicity in hopes of finding the piece.
"He would have been over the moon about this," DeLind told the AP.
Milwaukee police told Fox News Digital that no additional information is available beyond what the department has already released.