Stocks● Neutral
Picasso etching stolen in 2018 recovered in vacant Milwaukee apartment
Milwaukee landlord finds stolen Picasso etching in vacant apartment after eviction. Gallery owner Bill DeLind confirms the artwork, valued at up to $50,000.
Continue with
A rare Pablo Picasso etching stolen from a Milwaukee gallery in 2018 has been recovered after a landlord found it hanging in a vacant apartment.
Gallery owner Bill DeLind said Milwaukee police contacted him last week after a landlord discovered the framed artwork while cleaning an apartment that had been vacated following an eviction. The piece was immediately recognisable as Torero, a signed Picasso etching with roughly 30 known copies in existence.
"I was overwhelmed. I was at a loss for words," DeLind said Friday.
The landlord, Tim Dertz, said the print was in an unusual spot on a wall and covered in dust. Suspecting it might be valuable, he showed it to an antique dealer friend, who identified it as a Picasso and believed it matched the artwork reported stolen from DeLind's gallery six years ago. Dertz then handed the print to police.
"When they called me, I was in disbelief," DeLind said.